Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin
Encyclopedia
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
who studied 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....
, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
.
He was born in Leiden in the Netherlands; he studied medicine at Leiden University
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
, but later moved first to Paris and then Vienna.
Between 1755 and 1759, Nikolaus von Jacquin was sent to the West Indies and Central America by Francis I
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real power of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty...
to collect plants for the Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence in Vienna, Austria. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna...
, and amassed a large collection of animal, plant and mineral samples.
In 1762, Nikolaus von Jacquin became Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Minerals and Mining at the Mining Academy in Schemnitz (now Banská Štiavnica
Banská Štiavnica
Banská Štiavnica is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as Štiavnica Mountains. Banská Štiavnica has a population of more than 10,000. It is a completely preserved medieval town...
in Slovakia). In 1768, he was appointed Professor of Botany and Chemistry and became director of the botanical gardens of the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. For his work, he was knighted in 1774. In 1783, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
. In 1806 he was made baron.
His younger son, Emil Gottfried (1767–1792), and his daughter, Franziska (1769–1850), were friends of Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
; Mozart wrote two songs for Gottfried to publish under Gottfried's name (K. 520 Als Luise …
Als Luise die Briefe ihres ungetreuen Liebhabers verbrannte
"Als Luise die Briefe ihres ungetreuen Liebhabers verbrannte" , K...
and K. 530 Das Traumbild) and gave piano lessons to Franziska. Mozart dedicated a considerable number of his works to the Jacquin family, notably the Kegelstatt Trio
Kegelstatt Trio
The Kegelstatt Trio , also referred to as the Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano in E-flat, is a classical chamber music composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-History:...
. This was first played at the Jacquins' house in August 1786 with Franziska playing the piano.
His son Joseph Franz
Joseph Franz von Jacquin
Joseph Franz Freiherr von Jacquin or Baron Joseph von Jacquin. was an Austrian scientist who studied medicine, chemistry zoology and botany....
(1766–1839) took his succession as professor of botany and chemistry at the University of Vienna and has written several notable botanical books.
He is commemorated by the genera Jacquinia
Jacquinia
Jacquinia is a genus of evergreen shrubs and trees in the family Theophrastaceae, native to Central America and the Caribbean.The genus was established by Linnaeus in 1760 and named by him in honor of Jacquin.There are about 86 species. ....
(Theophrastaceae
Theophrastaceae
Theophrastaceae is a small family of flowering plants. As currently circumscribed, the family consists of seven genera and 95 species of trees or shrubs, native to tropical regions of the Americas....
) and Jacquiniella
Jacquiniella
Jacquiniella is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae.The diploid chromosome number of one species, J. globosa, has been determined as 2n = 38.-Species:Kew accepts twelve species of Jacquiniella:...
(Orchidaceae
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
). In 2011, the Austrian Mint issued silver coins to mark his science expeditions to the Caribbean.
Publications
- Enumeratio systematica plantarum (1760)
- Enumeratio Stirpium Plerarumque (1762)
- Selectarum Stirpium Americanarum (1763)
- Observationum Botanicarum (part 1 1764, part 2 1767, part 3 1768, part 4 1771)
- Hortus Botanicus Vindobonensis (3 volumes, 1770–1776) with plates by Franz Anton von ScheidelFranz Anton von ScheidelFranz Anton von Scheidel was a German natural history artist, noted for his botanical illustrations of Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin's Hortus botanicus Vindobonensis , which was published in three fascicles from 1770 to 1776 and is a description of plants at the university's botanical garden...
- Florae Austriacae (5 volumes, 1773–1778)
- Icones Plantarum Rariorum (3 volumes, 1781–1793).
- Plantarum Rariorum Horti Caesarei Schoenbrunnensis (4 volumes, 1797–1804)
- Fragmenta Botanica 1804–1809 (1809)