Friedrich Wilhelm Justus Baedeker

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Friedrich Wilhelm Justus Baedeker (born February 5, 1788 in Dahl (Hagen) ; † April 21, 1865 in Witten ) was a German pharmacist , ornithologist and ornithological illustrator who was famous for his extensive ootheca (egg collection).

Live and act

Friedrich Wilhelm Justus Baedeker was the third of five children of the married couple Franz Gotthilf Heinrich Jacob (born August 11, 1752, † August 1, 1825) and Anna Dorothea Caroline Baedeker, b. Hülshoff, born. His father was a pastor in Dahl, consistorial councilor and general superintendent . He cultivated the lands belonging to the rectory and also raised his sons and confirmands . In particular, he devoted himself to fruit tree cultivation, about which he published the book Lessons in Fruit Tree Cultivation for Rural Youth in 1796 . The regular work in the field and garden also resulted in a deep love for nature in his son Friedrich Wilhelm Justus Baedeker.

As a child he had a rather weak constitution, which should be strengthened by working in nature. Up to the age of twelve Baedeker was taught by his father, from 1801 to 1804 by his uncle, Pastor Reichenbach in Voerde . In 1804 he started an apprenticeship with his uncle, the pharmacist Baedeker in Mühlheim . In 1808 he became a provisional pharmacy in Iserlohn , but returned to Mühlheim in 1810. Soon afterwards he acquired the privilege of setting up a pharmacy in Witten , which also included a half-finished house. At the same time he passed the exam with distinction. In April 1811 he married Friederike Sybel, daughter of the businessman Joh. Andreas Sybel, in his parents' house.

On May 1, 1811, Baedeker opened his pharmacy in Witten. The first few years were economically difficult due to the low income from the business, the costs of billeting during the wars of liberation , the inflation of the years 1816–1817 and high interest rates for low assets. Only with a general economic upswing in Witten through factories and mining, which also increased the city's population noticeably, did Baedeker's business recover.

Already in his school days, Baedeker had shown a special talent for drawing , which he developed further in the following years and which was finally reflected in his work The Eggs of European Birds, painted from nature and reflected in his drawings of European birds. For the Journal für Ornithologie , Baedeker occasionally contributed pictures of newly discovered birds and eggs. He also created the illustrations in a monograph on the crossbills by Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte . Baedeker approached his work as an illustrator in a perfectionist manner. He burned works that did not meet his requirements for years and only presented his drawings when he had the impression that they could no longer be improved.

Baedeker began early on, besides collecting plants and butterflies, also with bird breeding. In different phases of his life he kept rare chickens and pigeons , house birds, parrots and European and exotic songbirds . He stuffed birds, but also made drawings of the birds from nature in order to capture their blaze of color even better. He laid out his drawings in such a way that the birds were shown in their natural environment, e.g. B. on the branches of the trees whose food they loved, on their nests, marsh and water birds on the beach or on the water. Baedeker belonged to the ornithologists' association and was in contact with the important ornithologists of his time, such as B. Johann Matthäus Bechstein , Charles Lucien Bonaparte, Jules Verreaux and Christian Ludwig Brehm . He gave away his early collections. Only in his later years did he collect birds again, but then mainly exotic birds, which his son Friedrich Wilhelm sent him from Australia , where he spent a few years. Also supported by Friedrich Wilhelm, he enlarged his collection of beetles with exotic specimens. Baedeker's extensive egg collection had a special rank, which he completed throughout his life and for which he even received eggs from North America, Lapland and Finland. His collection was distinguished by its size but also by good conservation and correct identification and classification.

In addition to these lovingly cared-for systematic activities, Baedeker took care of the garden he had created himself and was involved as an alderman for the community. From 1848, Baedeker made various trips to nesting sites for special birds and to meet other ornithologists and to examine their collections.

Contemporaries described Baedeker as serious and closed, "headstrong in action and obsessed with his ideas".

For the last year and a half of his life, Baedeker suffered from a stroke, which caused his hands to shake and he could no longer draw. On April 21, 1865, at the age of 78, he fell asleep in the arms of his wife.

family

Eight children were born to the couple Friedrich Wilhelm Justus and Friederike Baedeker née Sybel:

  • Johann Heinrich Wilhelm (October 18, 1812 - October 11, 1813)
  • Julius Theodor (* December 18, 1814 - March 26, 1880), bookseller and publisher in Iserlohn
  • Helene Amalie (born July 20, 1816 - † October 28, 1819)
  • Maria Pauline (born August 28, 1818 - † June 9, 1841)
  • Franz Gotthilf Heinrich Jacob (born August 1, 1820) took over the pharmacy from his father in 1850
  • Friedrich Wilhelm (born August 3, 1823 - † October 9, 1906), evangelist, revival preacher and missionary
  • Adolph (born April 10, 1826), emigrated to Chicago
  • Anna Dorothea (born May 31, 1828 - April 19, 1853)

Honors

A street and school in Witten are named after Friedrich Wilhelm Justus Baedeker. Christian Ludwig Brehm honored him in 1855 in the name of the baker's night owl Nyctale baedeckeri , a name that is now a synonym for the rough owl ( Aegolius funereus ( Linnaeus , 1758)).

Works

  • with Christian Ludwig Brehm, Carl Wilhelm Gottfried Paeßler : The eggs of the European birds painted from nature . With a description of the nest building, edited jointly with L. Brehm and W. Paessler. 1: Acciptres. Edited and published by J. Baedeker, Leipzig and Iserlohn ( biodiversitylibrary.org - 1855-1863).
  • with Christian Ludwig Brehm, Carl Wilhelm Gottfried Paeßler: The eggs of the European birds painted from nature . With a description of the nest building, edited jointly with L. Brehm and W. Paessler. 2: Oscines. Edited and published by J. Baedeker, Leipzig and Iserlohn ( biodiversitylibrary.org - 1855-1863).

literature

  • Carl Wilhelm Gottfried Paeßler: Friedrich Wilhelm Justus Baedeker . In: Journal of Ornithology . tape 14 , no. 79 , 1866, pp. 51-59 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Louis Constanz Berger: Obituary for Baedeker . In: Journal of Ornithology . tape 14 , no. 79 , 1866, pp. 59-62 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Ludwig Baege: From the ornithological work of the Witten pharmacist Friedrich Wilhelm Justus Baedeker (1788-1865) . In: Journal of Ornithology . tape 110 , no. 1 , 1969, p. 90-100 , doi : 10.1007 / BF01671142 .
  • Baedeker, Friedrich Wilhelm Justus. In: Ludwig Gebhardt (Ed.): Die Ornithologen Mitteleuropas. Reprint of volumes 1–4 from 1964–1980. Aula-Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2006, ISBN 3-89104-680-4 , Volume 1, p. 22; Volume 2, p. 148.
  • Christian Ludwig Brehm: The complete catching of birds. A thorough instruction, all European birds on the thrush, starling, ortolan, plover, beach hoe and duck herd, with day, night and tension nets, in stick, adhesive, hanging, bell and cover yarns, in chicken paths, nightingale and other gardens, on the drinking flock, in the crows, herring and titmouse huts, in raptor traps and hawk fjords, leghold traps and swan halves, on the kite discs and salt leather, in earthen and titmouse boxes, speckles and rashes, drones, barrel - and foot loops, with glue rods and glue stalks, in pipe catches ec. catch. With special consideration of the bird felling of the French and Africans. In addition to an overview and brief description of all European birds, among which there are many new species . With 2 lithographic plates. Publishing house, printing and lithography by Bernh. Friedr. Voigt, Weimar 1855 ( reader.digitale-sammlungen.de ).

Web links

Commons : Friedrich Wilhelm Justus Baedeker  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Friedrich Wilhelm Justus Baedeker  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This representation is based on the information in the Nekrolog in the Journal für Ornithologie. 1866, pp. 51-62. PDF online
  2. ↑ L. Berger: Obituary. In: Journal of Ornithology. 1866, p. 59. PDF online
  3. ↑ a b c Lisa Timm: Wittens first pharmacy opened 200 years ago. In: RuhrNachrichten.de, January 1, 2011.
  4. ↑ L. Berger: Obituary. In: Journal of Ornithology. 1866, p. 61. PDF online
  5. ↑ Christian Ludwig Brehm (1855), p. 38.
personal data
SURNAME Baedeker, Friedrich Wilhelm Justus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German pharmacist and ornithologist
DATE OF BIRTH February 5, 1788
PLACE OF BIRTH Dahl (Hagen)
DATE OF DEATH April 21, 1865
Place of death Witten