Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann
Encyclopedia
Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann (December 7, 1770 Brunswick
- December 31, 1840 Kiel
), was a German
physician
, historian
, naturalist
and entomologist
. He is best known for his studies of world Diptera
, but he also studied Hymenoptera
and Coleoptera, although far less expertly.
After his education in Brunswick, he matriculated in 1790 to the Faculty of Medicine
at the University of Jena where he was a contemporary of the poet Friedrich von Hardenberg.
While attending university, Wiedemann, was one of the many pupils of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach
, and travelled to Saxony
and Bohemia
. He obtained his doctoral degree in 1792 with a thesis entitled Dissertatio inauguralis sistens vitia gennus humanum debilitantia. He then went to England to increase his knowledge of mineralogy.
Appointed Professor of Anatomy at Brunswick’s Collegium Carolinum
in 1794, his inaugural address was about a medical condition observed in a boy at ,Llandeilo, Wales
. It was titled Über das fehlende Brustbein, English “On the missing breastbone”.
In 1796 he married Luise Michaelis, the daughter of Johann David Michaelis
, an Orientalist
. They would raise the two sons of Luise's brother, who died in a cholera
epidemic. The couple had nine children of their own, two dying in infancy.
He was later appointed Lecturer in his specialist field obstetrics
In the late 17th century, there was a movement, based in Brunswick, to establish German as a scientific language. Able to read Latin, English, French and Italian, Wiedemann found remunerative work as a translator.
In 1801 he received a scholarship for study in Paris
from the Duke of Brunswick. Here he studied obstetrics
and natural history
and met Georges Cuvier
, amongst other zoologists.
In 1802, he was, in addition to his other medical appointments, made Professor of Obstetrics at the College of Anatomy and Surgery and was nominated Privy Councillor at the court of the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg
.
In 1804 he contracted syphilis
which had serious effects in later years.
In 1805 he became Professor of Medicine in Kiel
(then in Denmark
and part of the Duchy of Holstein
) with the title Counsellor of Justice and, later Counsellor of State. These were difficult years for Denmark which had sided with France in the Napoleonic Wars
against England (and her allies) to preserve her maritime empire. Money was a problem and Wiedemann used his own resources to set up the midwifery clinic proposed as one of his duties as professor.
In 1811 he travelled south to Italy
for his health.
From around 1814 Wiedemann devoted much of his time to taxonomic entomology
and in 1815 , on a visit to Bonn to stay with his daughter Emma who had married Karl Theodore Welker later a radical embroiled in the turbulent poloitics of the 1840s he travelled to Stolberg to meet Johann Wilhelm Meigen
a, by then, well known entomologist through his important work on Diptera
. Perhaps, not able to attend properly to his medical duties through ill health- he visited the spa town of Bad Aachen
in 1817- Wiedemann changed employment (to Pharmacology
) and had several semi-honorary positions. With more time and sedentary, he prepared and studied insects and went on collecting trips for his health. He also gaves lectures on entomology
And natural history.
Wiedemann’s most productive work on insects was accomplished in the 1820’s. But when he attended a scientific meeting in Hamburg
in 1830 this too was drawing to a close. His eyesight was very poor and he had a succession of strokes.
Wiedemann main natural history interest remained entomology but he was also interested in mineralogy
and conchology
. In 1827 his collections included 5,000 minerals and over 3,500 species
of Diptera
.
He is known to have visited Hamburg
, Copenhagen
and Berlin
in these years but nothing is so far known of these trips although they may well have been to further his insect studies.
He was the creator of the transitory review Archiv für Zoologie und Zootomie 1800-1806 (five volumes) 2,356 pages. Berlin and Brunswick and the Zoologisches Magazin (volumes 1-2) 1817-1823 749 pages. Kiel and Altona
.
Although he worked mainly on Diptera he also published descriptions of Coleoptera and (at least one) Hymenoptera
n.
He was the successor to Johan Christian Fabricius
as the author of descriptions of “exotic” that is non-European Diptera. Meigen
worked only on the Europe
an species.
His descriptions show clear advances, both over Fabricius and many of his contemporaries. A brief Latin diagnosis, a fuller detailed description in German, the sex of the specimen, locality details, a reference to the collection in which the specimen was to be found and, sometimes, the name of the collector.
In Brunswick, then an important centre for entomology Wiedemann worked with Johann Christian Ludwig Hellwig
and Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger
setting new standards for descriptions (uniform terminology for structures and colour) and for nomenclature, especially in regard to the avoidance of synonyms by proper research of pre-existing literature. He was critical of Fabricius
in this respect, although honouring him as a great entomologist
In Aussereuropäische Zweiflügelige Insekten he described 1000 new and redescribed 500 old (mainly Fabrician
) species. This work, supplemental to Meigen followed Meigen in introducing many new genera. He could have gone further than he did with “exotic” genera. He introduced too few of these but the full extent of diversity of world Diptera was not then apparent.The work includes descriptions of Diptera collected by Ferdinand Deppe
in Mexico
.
Wiedemann, in his studies of the Fabrician
) species was careful to consider only Fabricius
specimens identified by their labels in Fabricius’ hand. This is at the core of the modern concept of type specimens.
He made his studies as comprehensive as possible, studying the collections of Wilhelm Von Winthem
and Bernt Wilhelm Westermann
and studied the collections in Copenhagen
, Berlin
, Frankfurt
, Kiel
, Leiden and Vienna
. He also studied Thomas Say’s
borrowing these from the Philadelphia museum. He was unable to study the Linnean
and the Fabricius
types (both in London) or visit Paris
.
Wiedemann's published work on entomology was almost entirely descriptive and notable for its accuracy.
in Frankfurt
, The Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen
(Zoologisk Museum, Københavns Universitet).
Collection contents online http://www.zmuc.dk/EntoWeb/collections-databaser/Diptera/dipterasites.htm
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
- December 31, 1840 Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
), was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
. He is best known for his studies of world Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
, but he also studied Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...
and Coleoptera, although far less expertly.
Biography
Wiedemann’s father, Conrad Eberhard Wiedemann (1722-1804) was an art dealer and his mother, Dorothea Frederike (née Raspe) (1741-1804) was the daughter of an accountant in the Royal Mining Service and also interested in the arts.After his education in Brunswick, he matriculated in 1790 to the Faculty of Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the University of Jena where he was a contemporary of the poet Friedrich von Hardenberg.
While attending university, Wiedemann, was one of the many pupils of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach was a German physician, physiologist and anthropologist, one of the first to explore the study of mankind as an aspect of natural history, whose teachings in comparative anatomy were applied to classification of what he called human races, of which he determined...
, and travelled to Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
and Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. He obtained his doctoral degree in 1792 with a thesis entitled Dissertatio inauguralis sistens vitia gennus humanum debilitantia. He then went to England to increase his knowledge of mineralogy.
Appointed Professor of Anatomy at Brunswick’s Collegium Carolinum
Technische Universität Braunschweig
The TU Braunschweig is the oldest University of Technology in Germany. It was founded in 1745 as Collegium Carolinum and is a member of TU9, an incorporated society of the most renowned and largest German Institutes of Technology. Today it has about 13,000 students, making it the third largest...
in 1794, his inaugural address was about a medical condition observed in a boy at ,Llandeilo, Wales
Llandeilo
Llandeilo is a town in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th century stone bridge. Its population is 1,731.The town is served by Llandeilo railway station on the Heart of Wales Line.- Early history :...
. It was titled Über das fehlende Brustbein, English “On the missing breastbone”.
In 1796 he married Luise Michaelis, the daughter of Johann David Michaelis
Johann David Michaelis
Johann David Michaelis , a famous and eloquent German biblical scholar and teacher, was a member of a family which had the chief part in maintaining that solid discipline in Hebrew and the cognate languages which distinguished the University of Halle in the period of Pietism.-Life and work:J. D...
, an Orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
. They would raise the two sons of Luise's brother, who died in a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic. The couple had nine children of their own, two dying in infancy.
He was later appointed Lecturer in his specialist field obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
In the late 17th century, there was a movement, based in Brunswick, to establish German as a scientific language. Able to read Latin, English, French and Italian, Wiedemann found remunerative work as a translator.
In 1801 he received a scholarship for study in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from the Duke of Brunswick. Here he studied obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
and natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and met Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, amongst other zoologists.
In 1802, he was, in addition to his other medical appointments, made Professor of Obstetrics at the College of Anatomy and Surgery and was nominated Privy Councillor at the court of the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg
Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...
.
In 1804 he contracted syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
which had serious effects in later years.
In 1805 he became Professor of Medicine in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
(then in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and part of the Duchy of Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
) with the title Counsellor of Justice and, later Counsellor of State. These were difficult years for Denmark which had sided with France in the Napoleonic Wars
Gunboat War
The Gunboat War was the naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the conventional Royal Navy...
against England (and her allies) to preserve her maritime empire. Money was a problem and Wiedemann used his own resources to set up the midwifery clinic proposed as one of his duties as professor.
In 1811 he travelled south to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
for his health.
From around 1814 Wiedemann devoted much of his time to taxonomic entomology
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
and in 1815 , on a visit to Bonn to stay with his daughter Emma who had married Karl Theodore Welker later a radical embroiled in the turbulent poloitics of the 1840s he travelled to Stolberg to meet Johann Wilhelm Meigen
Johann Wilhelm Meigen
Johann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
a, by then, well known entomologist through his important work on Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
. Perhaps, not able to attend properly to his medical duties through ill health- he visited the spa town of Bad Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
in 1817- Wiedemann changed employment (to Pharmacology
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
) and had several semi-honorary positions. With more time and sedentary, he prepared and studied insects and went on collecting trips for his health. He also gaves lectures on entomology
And natural history.
Wiedemann’s most productive work on insects was accomplished in the 1820’s. But when he attended a scientific meeting in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
in 1830 this too was drawing to a close. His eyesight was very poor and he had a succession of strokes.
Wiedemann main natural history interest remained entomology but he was also interested in mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
and conchology
Conchology
Conchology is the scientific or amateur study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs, however malacology studies molluscs as whole organisms, not just their shells. Conchology pre-dated malacology as a field of study. It includes the study of land and...
. In 1827 his collections included 5,000 minerals and over 3,500 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
.
He is known to have visited Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in these years but nothing is so far known of these trips although they may well have been to further his insect studies.
Achievements
Wiedemann published the first monographs on “exotic” (non-European) Diptera.He was the creator of the transitory review Archiv für Zoologie und Zootomie 1800-1806 (five volumes) 2,356 pages. Berlin and Brunswick and the Zoologisches Magazin (volumes 1-2) 1817-1823 749 pages. Kiel and Altona
Altona, Hamburg
Altona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937...
.
Although he worked mainly on Diptera he also published descriptions of Coleoptera and (at least one) Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...
n.
He was the successor to Johan Christian Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
as the author of descriptions of “exotic” that is non-European Diptera. Meigen
Johann Wilhelm Meigen
Johann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
worked only on the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an species.
His descriptions show clear advances, both over Fabricius and many of his contemporaries. A brief Latin diagnosis, a fuller detailed description in German, the sex of the specimen, locality details, a reference to the collection in which the specimen was to be found and, sometimes, the name of the collector.
In Brunswick, then an important centre for entomology Wiedemann worked with Johann Christian Ludwig Hellwig
Johann Christian Ludwig Hellwig
Johann Christian Ludwig Hellwig was a German entomologist.After studies of mathematics and natural history at the university of Frankfurt, he became, in 1766, adviser to prince Wilhelm Adolf von Braunschweig at the time of his voyage in the south of Russia.In 1771, he taught in two colleges of...
and Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger
Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger
Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger was a German entomologist and zoologist.Illiger was the son of a merchant in Brunswick. He studied under the entomologist Johann Hellwig, and later worked on the zoological collections of Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg...
setting new standards for descriptions (uniform terminology for structures and colour) and for nomenclature, especially in regard to the avoidance of synonyms by proper research of pre-existing literature. He was critical of Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
in this respect, although honouring him as a great entomologist
In Aussereuropäische Zweiflügelige Insekten he described 1000 new and redescribed 500 old (mainly Fabrician
Johan Christian Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
) species. This work, supplemental to Meigen followed Meigen in introducing many new genera. He could have gone further than he did with “exotic” genera. He introduced too few of these but the full extent of diversity of world Diptera was not then apparent.The work includes descriptions of Diptera collected by Ferdinand Deppe
Ferdinand Deppe
Ferdinand Deppe was a German naturalist, explorer and painter. He was the younger brother of Wilhelm Deppe.Deppe travelled to Mexico in 1824. He collected natural history specimens for the Berlin Museum with Count von Sack and William Bullock...
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Wiedemann, in his studies of the Fabrician
Johan Christian Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
) species was careful to consider only Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
specimens identified by their labels in Fabricius’ hand. This is at the core of the modern concept of type specimens.
He made his studies as comprehensive as possible, studying the collections of Wilhelm Von Winthem
Wilhelm von Winthem
Wilhelm von Winthem was a naturalist and entomologist from Hamburg, Germany, who was chiefly interested in Diptera and Hymenoptera. Well placed in a port city, von Winthem built a world collection....
and Bernt Wilhelm Westermann
Bernt Wilhelm Westermann
Bernt Wilhelm Westermann was a wealthy Danish businessman who collected insects.An amateur insect collector Westermann travelled to Calcutta and later to Jakarta as an employee of an English business firm.At the Cape of Good Hope, in Bengal and Java he collected insects for English and Dutch...
and studied the collections in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, Leiden and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. He also studied Thomas Say’s
Thomas Say
Thomas Say was an American naturalist, entomologist, malacologist, herpetologist and carcinologist. A taxonomist, he is often considered to be the father of descriptive entomology in the United States. He described more than 1,000 new species of beetles and over 400 species of insects of other...
borrowing these from the Philadelphia museum. He was unable to study the Linnean
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...
and the Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
types (both in London) or visit Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Wiedemann's published work on entomology was almost entirely descriptive and notable for its accuracy.
Works
- Georges CuvierGeorges CuvierGeorges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, 1798 Tableau Élémentaire as Cüviers elemantarischer Entwurf der Naturgeschichte der Thiere, aus dem Französischen übersetz ind mit Anmmerkungen versehen von C.R.W. Wiedemann. Brunswick , 1800. The entomological part of this was translated and revised by Johann Karl Wilhelm IlligerJohann Karl Wilhelm IlligerJohann Karl Wilhelm Illiger was a German entomologist and zoologist.Illiger was the son of a merchant in Brunswick. He studied under the entomologist Johann Hellwig, and later worked on the zoological collections of Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg...
.Translation. - Über Pariser Gebäranstalten und Geburtshelfer, den letzen Schamfugenschnitt und einige andere zu Paris beobachtete Geburtsfälle. Brunswick 1803. Medical.
- Unterricht für Hebammen. Brunswick , 1802. Medical – A Manual for Midwives. A Danish edition, Undervissung for Giordemødre was published in 1805. Expanded it was published as Lesebuch für Hebammen, Primer for midwives in 1814.
- Anweisung zur Rettung der Ertrunkenen, Ersticken, Ehrängten, vom Blitze Erschlagenen, Erfrornen und Vergiftaten ; nach den neuesten Beobachtungen entworfen. Brunswick, 1796 (Second edition 1804). Medical- treatment of accident victims.
- With Karl Gustav HimlyKarl Gustav HimlyKarl Gustav Himly was a German surgeon and opthalmologist from Braunschweig. He studied medicine at the University of Würzburg under Karl Kaspar von Siebold , and at the University of Göttingen under August Gottlieb Richter...
and T. G. A. Roose- Über das Impfen der Kuhpocken für besorgte Mütter. Brunswick, 1800. Medical. Advice on SmallpoxSmallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
vaccination. - J. Stuve Lehrbuch der Kenntniss des menschlichen Körpers und der Gesundheitslehren. Brunswick, 1805. Medical. Second revised edition of a standard textbook.
- B. Harwood’s System der vergleichenden Anatomie ud Physiologie. Aus dem Englischen übersetzt und mit Anmerkungen und Zusätzen versehen von C.R.W. Wiedemann.Berlin, 1790.Translation.
- J. Méhée. Über die Schusswunden. Brunswick, 1801).Translation.
- Antoine-François de Fourcroy System der chemischen Kenntnisse. 1801.Translation.
- Handbuch der Anatomie English Handbook of Anatomy.1796 (second editions 1802 and 1812)
- Übersicht der mineralogischen einfachen fossilien.1800.
- Tabulae animalium invertebratorum. 1810
- Diptera exotica: sectio I. Kiliae: [s.n.], 1820.
- Munus rectoris in Academia Christiana Albertina aditurus Analecta entomologica ex Museo Regio Havniensi... Kilisae: el regio typographeo scholarum, 1824.
- Aussereuropäische Zweiflügelige Insekten. Hamm 1828-1830
Collections
Wiedemann's collection of Diptera and Hymenoptera was taken over by Wilhelm von Winthem who presented part to the Natural History Museum, Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien) the rest to the Senckenberg MuseumSenckenberg Museum
The Naturmuseum Senckenberg in Frankfurt is the second largest museum of natural history in Germany. It is particularly popular with children, who enjoy the extensive collection of dinosaur skeletons: Senckenberg boasts the largest exhibition of large dinosaurs in Europe. One particular treasure is...
in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, The Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen consists of both mathematical and natural sciences, and is divided into 11 institutes including the Natural History Museum of Denmark...
(Zoologisk Museum, Københavns Universitet).
Collection contents online http://www.zmuc.dk/EntoWeb/collections-databaser/Diptera/dipterasites.htm
External links
- Several full books are available at Google Books.
- Wiedemann Prefaces
- Internet Archive Nova dipterorum genera ... (1820)
- Voyage of the Novara
- Zeno in German
- Systema Dipterorum Provides complete Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann Diptera Bibliography
- Systema Dipterorum Provides complete list of genera and species of Diptera described by Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann