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Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck

"Nees" redirects here. For other people with the name, see Nees (surname). For the earthquake engineering network, see NEES.
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck in 1855
Born
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck

(1776-02-14)14 February 1776
Schloss Reichenberg, Reichelsheim (Odenwald), Hesse, Germany
Died16 March 1858(1858-03-16) (aged 82)
Breslau
Alma materUniversity of Jena
Scientific career
FieldsBotany, Zoology, Medicine

Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (14 February 1776 – 16 March 1858) was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He described approximately 7,000 plant species (almost as many as Linnaeus himself). His last official act as president of the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina was to admit Charles Darwin as a member. He was the author of numerous monographs on botany and zoology and majority of his best-known works deal with fungi.

Biography

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Nees von Esenbeck was born in Schloss Reichenberg near Reichelsheim (Odenwald) in Hesse, Germany. He showed an early interest in science and, after receiving his primary education in Darmstadt, went on to the University of Jena and obtained his degree in biology (natural history) and medicine in 1800. He practiced as a physician for Francis I (Erbach-Erbach), but he had developed a great interest in botany during his university studies which caused him to return to academia.[citation needed] In 1816, he joined the Leopoldina Academy, which was one of the most prestigious institutions in Europe. In 1817, he was appointed professor of botany at the University of Erlangen. Three years later, he became professor of natural history at the University of Bonn, where he established the Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. In 1831, he was appointed as a chair of botany department at the University of Breslau.[1] In 1818, he was elected president of the Leopoldina Academy. He continued as president of the academy for the rest of his life. In botany he achieved notoriety for his contributions to the families Acanthaceae and Lauraceae.[citation needed]

He also became politically active in the German revolutions of 1848–1849. In 1851, due to conflicts with the government, he was deprived of his professorship and pension at Breslau. Seven years later, Nees von Esenbeck died essentially penniless in Breslau. He was an older brother to botanist Theodor Friedrich Ludwig Nees von Esenbeck (1787–1837).[1]

The standard author abbreviation Nees is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[2]

Eponyms

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Works

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References

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  1. ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
  2. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Nees.
  3. ^ "Myconet". Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  4. ^ Pilger, Robert Knud Friedrich 1940. Neesiochloa eine neue Gramineengattung aus Brasilien. Repertorium Specierum Novarum Regni Vegetabilis 48: 119–120
  5. ^ Tropicos, Neesiochloa Pilg.
  6. ^ Grassbase - The World Online Grass Flora
  7. ^ "Neesenbeckia Levyns | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 27 May 2021.

Further reading

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Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck