- Johann Gerhard König
Johann Gerhard König (1728–1785) was a
botanist andphysician born in 1728 inUngerhof , in PolishLivland . He was a private pupil ofCarolus Linnaeus in 1757, and lived inDenmark from 1759 to 1767. From 1773 to 1785, he worked as a naturalist for theNawab of Arcot inIndia . He was inTranquebar with the Danish medical mission from 1773 to 1785.In 1773, he received the Doctor's degree "
in absentia " from theUniversity of Copenhagen . As naturalist to the Nawab of Arcot he embarked on a voyage to the mountains north ofMadras and toCeylon , a description of which was later published in a Danish scientific journal. In 1778, König was transferred to a post with theBritish East India Company where he remained until his death, undertaking several scientific journeys and working with notable scientists likeWilliam Roxburgh . Perhaps the most notable of those journeys was to Thailand and the Malacca Straits in 1778-80.He died in Jagrenatporum near Kakinada,Godaari district,Andhrapradesh in 1785.
He described many plants used in Indian Medicine. The Curry-leaf tree "
Murraya koenigii " is named after him.External links
* [http://linnaeus.nrm.se/botany/fbo/hand/koenig.html.en Linnean herbarium]
* [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1251641 Tranquebar and its History]
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