Johann Daniel Major
Encyclopedia
Johann Daniel Major was a German
professor of theoretical medicine
, naturalist
, collector
and the founder of museology
.
From 1654 to 1658 Johann Daniel Major studied at the University of Wittenberg and in 1659 graduated as a Magister
medicine at the University of Wittenberg and journeyed to Italy
gaining from University
another degree for a dissertation "Description of the bird Albatros
and other curious observations".From 1661 to 1663 he practiced as a physician
in Wittenberg moving in 1663 to Hamburg
, where he was a plague
physician and wrote medical publications.In 1666 he conducted the first public dissection of a human corpse now in Kiel
.Four years later in 1667 he was appointed supervisor of the botanic garden
of the University of Kiel.From 1673 to 1682 he devoted himself to also antiquities
and natural history making large collections and from 1685 to 1692 founded the "Museum of the Cimbrici
" conducting archaeological
excavations and studying the regions fauna
and flora
.Called to Sweden for the treatment of the queen he caught her infection and died.
As may be seen from the list of his publications Johann Daniel Major was a polymath
.
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...
professor of theoretical 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....
, naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
, collector
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
and the founder of museology
Museology
Museology is the diachronic study of museums and how they have established and developed in their role as an educational mechanism under social and political pressures.-Overview:...
.
From 1654 to 1658 Johann Daniel Major studied at the University of Wittenberg and in 1659 graduated as a Magister
Magister (degree)
Magister is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education.-Argentina:...
medicine at the University of Wittenberg and journeyed 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...
gaining from University
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
another degree for a dissertation "Description of the bird Albatros
Black-browed Albatross
The Black-browed Albatross or Black-browed Mollymawk, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae, and it is the most widespread and common albatross.-Taxonomy:...
and other curious observations".From 1661 to 1663 he practiced as a 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...
in Wittenberg moving in 1663 to 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...
, where he was a plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
physician and wrote medical publications.In 1666 he conducted the first public dissection of a human corpse now 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...
.Four years later in 1667 he was appointed supervisor of the botanic garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
of the University of Kiel.From 1673 to 1682 he devoted himself to also antiquities
Antiquities
Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...
and natural history making large collections and from 1685 to 1692 founded the "Museum of the Cimbrici
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
" conducting archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
excavations and studying the regions fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
and flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
.Called to Sweden for the treatment of the queen he caught her infection and died.
As may be seen from the list of his publications Johann Daniel Major was a polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
.
Works
- Übersetzung und Herausgabe René Decartes Explicatio(1672)
- Festrede auf Kaiser Leopold zur Befreiung Wiens (1684)
- Laurifolia Veneta. Epigramme aus dem Stegreif zum Lobe Venedigs PaduaPaduaPadua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
(1660) - Epistola de oraculis medicinae Wittenberg (1663)
- Prodromus Chirurgiae Infusoriae LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
(1664) - Der ersten Kieler Anatomie vorher angekündigtes Programm über den menschlichen Körper Kiel (1666)
- Programm einer Vorlesung über Botanik Kiel (1667)
- Memoriale Anatomico-miscellanum Kiel (1669) (Description of his anatomy collection);
- Denkschrift über den neu errichteten Botanischen Garten an der Universität Kiel Kiel (1669)
- Renati Descartes Explicatio machinarum vel instrumentorum Kiel (1672)
- Katalog der Pflanzen Kiel (1673)
- Catalogus oder Index Alphabeticus von Kunst, Antiquitäten, Schatz und fürnehmlich Naturalien-Kammern, Conclavia, Musea, Repositoria, oder auch nur kleinere Serinia Rerum Naturalium Selectorum Kiel (1674)
- Unvorgreiffliches Bedenken von Kunst und Naturalienkammern insgemein Kiel (1674)
- Vorstellung etlicher Kunst und Naturalienkammern in Africa und an den Gränzen Europae Kiel (1674)
- Vorstellung etlicher Kunst und Naturalienkammern in America und Asia Kiel (1674)
- Vorstellung etlicher Kunst und Naturalienkammern in Italien, zu Neapol und Alt Rom Kiel (1675)
- Der irrende Genius oder über den Missbrauch des Talents in der Wissenschaft Kiel (1678)
- Grosser Reichtum zusammengebracht aus den meisten Schätzen der Welt, oder Poetischer Interims Diskurs von Kunst und Naturalien Kammern, einem dergleichen Dinge wohlerfahrenen guten Freude zugeeignet Kiel (1679)
- Vermutungen über eine Münze des sächsischen Königs Otto Kiel (1682)
- Über Münzen mit griechischen Inschriften Kiel (1685)
- Kurzer Vorbericht, betreffend D. Johann Daniel Majors Museum Cimbricum oder insgemein so-gennate Kunst Kammer mit darzugehörigen Conferenz-Saal PlönPlönPlön is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 13,000 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on several smaller lakes, touching the town on virtually all sides...
(1688) - Musei Cimbrici cum contentis in eo rebus selectioribus privatim declarandi, Kiel (1689)