Johann Georg Gmelin

Infobox Person
name = Johann Georg Gmelin


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birth_date = August 8, 1709
birth_place = Tübingen
death_date = May 20, 1755
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Johann Georg Gmelin (August 8, 1709 - May 20, 1755) was a German naturalist, botanist and geographer.

Gmelin was born in Tübingen, the son of an apothecary. Hewas a gifted child and graduated with a medical degree at the age of 18. In 1730 he travelled to St Petersburg to lecture at the university, and in the following year was appointed professor of chemistry and natural history. At his suggestion, Johann Amman left Hans Sloane in London to take up a post in St Petersburg. The final two volumes of Johann Christian Buxbaum's (1693-1730) "Centuria" were published posthumously by Gmelin. [ [http://www.polybiblio.com/marta/3105.html AMMAN, Johannes, Stirpium rariorum in Imperio Rutheno sponte provenientium icones et descriptiones ] ]

From 1733 to 1743 Gmelin made a journey of scientific exploration through Siberia. He described the position of the Yenisey river as a boundary between Europe and Asia and participated in measuring the lowest temperature ever recorded at Yeniseysk. He was also the first person to measure the fact that the level of the Caspian Sea was below that of the Mediterranean Sea.

Gmelin's major works were "Flora Sibirica" (4 vols., 1749-1750) and "Reisen durch Sibirien" (4 vols., 1753). He spent his final years as professor of medicine at the University of Tübingen, a post to which he was appointed in 1749.

The Gmelina is named after him.

References

External links

* Flora Sibirica [http://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/no_cache/dms/load/toc/?IDDOC=87829] at Göttinger Digitalisierungszentrum

Complete Bibliography

* [http://worldcat.org/search?q=Johann+Georg+Gmelin&qt=results_page on WorldCat]

Persondata
NAME=Gmelin, Johann Georg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=German naturalist, botanist and geographer
DATE OF BIRTH=August 8, 1709
PLACE OF BIRTH=Tübingen
DATE OF DEATH=May 20, 1755
PLACE OF DEATH=