Christian Knaut was a German physician, botanist and librarian

Librarian

A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...

 born in Halle an der Saale. His brother, Christoph Knaut (1638-1694) was also a physician and botanist.

He studied medicine at the University of Leipzig

University of Leipzig

The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...

, where he had as instructors Gottfried Welsch

Gottfried Welsch

Gottfried Welsch was a German physician who was born in Leipzig. In 1644 he became a professor of anatomy at the University of Leipzig, and afterwards a professor of physiology , pathology and therapy...

, Paul Amman

Paul Amman

-Biography:Amman was born at Breslau in 1634. In 1662 he received the degree of doctor of physic from the university of Leipzig, and in 1664 was admitted a member of the society Naturae Curiosorum, under the name of Dryander...

, Michael Ettmüller

Michael Ettmüller

Michael Ettmüller , German physician, was born at Leipzig.He studied at his native place and at Wittenberg, and after travelling in Italy, France and England was recalled in 1668 to Leipzig, where he was admitted a member of the faculty of medicine in 1676...

 and Johannes Bohn

Johannes Bohn

Johannes Bohn was a German physician who was a native of Leipzig. He studied medicine at the Universities of Leipzig and Jena, and received his doctorate in 1665. In 1668 he was promoted to the anatomical chair at Leipzig, and in 1690 succeeded Gottfried Welsch as Stadtphysikus for the city of...

. In 1682 he obtained his doctorate from the University of Jena with a dissertation titled De fermentatione in sanguine non existente. Afterwards he returned to Halle, were he served as a librarian and personal physician to Prince Emanuel Lebrecht

Emmanuel Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen

Emmanuel Lebrecht of Anhalt-Köthen , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen....

 of Anhalt-Köthen

Anhalt-Köthen

Anhalt-Köthen has existed on two separate occasions. The first state was created in 1396 when the Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. The first creation lasted until 1552 when it was inherited by Anhalt-Dessau....

. As a librarian he was the author of a chronicle

Chronicle

Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...

 and description involving the counties of Ballenstädt

Ballenstedt

Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipality includes the villages of Badeborn and Oppenrode...

 and Aschersleben

Aschersleben

Aschersleben is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 22 km east of Quedlinburg, and 45 km northwest of Halle .-Pre-20th century:...

 (1698).

As a botanist he published Compendium Botanicum sive Methodus plantarum genuina, in which he provided a classification system for flowering plants based on petal

Petal

Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...

 number and arrangement. Carolus Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...

 named the plant genus Knautia

Knautia

Knautia is a genus in the family Dipsacaceae. The common names of these flowers are a variant of "widow flower." Others are given the name "Scabious," although this word belongs to a related genus .Species include:...

in honor of Christian and Christoph Knaut.