Johann Heinrich von Heucher

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Johann Heinrich von Heucher

Johann Heinrich von Heucher (born January 1, 1677 in Vienna , † February 23, 1747 in Dresden ) was a scientist and the personal physician of August the Strong . Its official botanical author abbreviation is “ Heuch. ".

He was extraordinarily educated in natural sciences and one of the first formative people in the fields of zoology , mineralogy and geology for today's museums. From 1720 until his death in 1747, Heucher was general and special inspector of the Galleries des Sciences in Dresden and responsible for all natural history collections.

Life

He was brought to Wittenberg by his parents at the age of twelve, where he matriculated at the University of Wittenberg on July 25, 1689 . On April 26, 1694 he acquired the academic degree of a master’s degree at the philosophy faculty of the university, then became a substitute for Johann Baptist Röschel and helped Paul Gottfried Sperling . He made a name for himself by producing anatomical specimens. After the on April 7, 1700 Licentiate acquired medicine and on April 26, 1700 Doctor received his doctorate of medicine, he took over in 1706 from Röschel the professor of physics . During the time of his professorship he increased the collections of medicinal preparations and published a first directory of the plants in the botanical garden of the University of Wittenberg.

On December 8, 1713, Heucher was appointed personal physician to King Augustus the Strong in Dresden, where he received an annual salary of 1200 thalers and a free apartment. Around 1718 work began on building special museums in Dresden, above all so-called natural history cabinets , the basis of which was the material used in the electoral art chambers. Between 1720 and 1728 Heucher transported all natural science objects from the Kunstkammer to the regiment house on Neumarkt and erected a collection building there for a natural history collection . Despite his activities in Dresden, he took over the professorship of medicine at the University of Wittenberg on December 1, 1721. In the Age of Enlightenment , a scientific cosmos emerged from the chaos of the chamber holdings , but there was hardly any space in the rooms of the regiment house. Heucher was very important to the king and was able to convince him to have the collection brought to the then most modern building in the city, the Zwinger . The order to move took place on May 19, 1728 and was carried out within six weeks.

Its remodeling in museums satisfied the most modern scientific demands of the time and was able to provide the scholars with the necessary material for their research. In 1746, Heucher's private library, comprising 4,000 volumes, was bought for 5,000 thalers for the main library. Heucher botanical knowledge and his research in the field must have been very important for the time. He also wrote works in the field of medicine and mineralogy.

Heucher married Johanna Maria, the daughter of Johann Heinrich von Berger , on May 13, 1706 in Wittenberg . He was ennobled by the emperor in 1729. In the same year he was elected a member of the Royal Society . His grave was in the Second Annenkirchhof on Josephinengasse in Dresden and like the cemetery has not been preserved.

Dedication names

Linnaeus named in his honor the genus Heuchera (Heuchera) of the plant family Saxifragaceae (Saxifragaceae).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Traubuch Stadtkirche Wittenberg
  2. ^ Entry on Heucher, Johann Heinrich (1677 - 1747) in the archive of the Royal Society , London
  3. ^ Carl von Linné: Critica Botanica . Leiden 1737, p. 93
  4. ↑ Carl von Linné: Genera Plantarum . Leiden 1742, p. 100
personal data
SURNAME Heucher, Johann Heinrich von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German natural scientist, personal physician to August the Strong, museum director
DATE OF BIRTH January 1, 1677
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH February 23, 1746
Place of death Dresden