Georg Marcgrave
Encyclopedia
Georg Marcgrave (1610 – 1644) was a German naturalist and astronomer.
in the Electorate of Saxony
, Marcgrave studied botany, astronomy, mathematics, and medicine in Germany and Switzerland until 1636 when he journeyed to Leiden in the Netherlands
.
In 1637, he was appointed astronomer of a company being formed to sail to the Dutch colony in Brazil
. He accompanied Willem Piso
, a physician and the newly appointed governor of the Dutch possessions in that country. He afterward entered the service of Count Maurice, of Nassau, whose liberality supplied him with the means of exploring a considerable part of Brazil. He arrived in Brazil in early 1638 and undertook the first zoological, botanical, and astronomical expedition there, exploring various parts of the colony to study its natural history and geography. Traveling later to the coast of Guinea
, he fell a victim to the climate.
was published in 1647. According to Cuvier
, Marcgrave was the most able and most precise of all those who described the natural history of remote countries during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
He was the co-author (with Willem Piso
) of Historia Naturalis Brasiliae
, an eight-volume work on the botany and zoology of Brazil
. It was published in 1648 and is the work for which he is best remembered.
Life
Born in LiebstadtLiebstadt
Liebstadt is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated 12 km southwest of Pirna, and 23 km southeast of Dresden .- References :...
in the Electorate of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
, Marcgrave studied botany, astronomy, mathematics, and medicine in Germany and Switzerland until 1636 when he journeyed to Leiden in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
In 1637, he was appointed astronomer of a company being formed to sail to the Dutch colony in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. He accompanied Willem Piso
Willem Piso
Willem Piso was a Dutch physician and naturalist who participated as an expedition doctor in Dutch Brazil from 1637 - 1644, sponsored by Earl Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and the Dutch West India Company...
, a physician and the newly appointed governor of the Dutch possessions in that country. He afterward entered the service of Count Maurice, of Nassau, whose liberality supplied him with the means of exploring a considerable part of Brazil. He arrived in Brazil in early 1638 and undertook the first zoological, botanical, and astronomical expedition there, exploring various parts of the colony to study its natural history and geography. Traveling later to the coast of Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
, he fell a victim to the climate.
Publications
His large map of Brazil, an important event in cartographyCartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
was published in 1647. According to Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, Marcgrave was the most able and most precise of all those who described the natural history of remote countries during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
He was the co-author (with Willem Piso
Willem Piso
Willem Piso was a Dutch physician and naturalist who participated as an expedition doctor in Dutch Brazil from 1637 - 1644, sponsored by Earl Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and the Dutch West India Company...
) of Historia Naturalis Brasiliae
Historia Naturalis Brasiliae
Historia Naturalis Brasiliae is the first scientific book about Brazil, written by Dutch naturalist Willem Piso and published in 1648. Piso makes use of observations made by the German naturalists Georg Marcgrave, and H. Gralitzio, in addition to John de Laet...
, an eight-volume work on the botany and zoology of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It was published in 1648 and is the work for which he is best remembered.
External links
- Account of Piso and Marcgrave to promote sale of a digitalized version of Historia Naturalis Brasiliae.
- The Marcgraf Map of Brazil
Further reading
- Darmstaedter, L.Ludwig DarmstaedterLudwig Darmstaedter was a German chemist and historian of science.- Works :* Ludwig Darmstaedter: Handbuch zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik. Berlin 1908...
(1928) Georg Marcgrave und Wilhelm Piso, die ersten Erforscher Brasiliens, Velhagen Klasings Monatshefte. 1928. pp. 649-654. - Holthuis, L.B.Lipke HolthuisLipke Bijdeley Holthuis was a Dutch carcinologist, considered one of the "undisputed greats" of carcinology, and "the greatest carcinologist of our time"....
(1991) Marcgraf's (1648) Brazilian Crustacea Zoologische VerhandelingenZoologische VerhandelingenZoologische Verhandelingen is a Dutch biology journal. It is published by the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden....
, Vol. 268 p. 1-123 PDF - Whitehead, P.J.P. (1979) "The biography of Georg Marcgraf (1610-1643/4) by his brother Christian, translated by James PetiverJames PetiverJames Petiver was a London apothecary, a Fellow of the Royal Society as well as London's informal Temple Coffee House Botany Club, famous for his study of botany and entomology.-Life:...
" in J. Soc. Biblphy nat. Hist., 9:301-314.