Johann Conrad Eichhorn

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Johann Conrad Eichhorn (born June 2, 1718 in Danzig ; died September 17, 1790 in Danzig) was a German pastor and zoologist .

After attending grammar school in Danzig, Eichhorn, the son of a businessman, studied Protestant theology in Jena from 1741 to 1746 . He married Anna Luise Meyer, with whom he had three daughters. In 1752 Eichhorn was first pastor, then deacon in Osterwick . In 1761 he began his life as a pastor at Sankt Katharinen in Danzig. Approximately took office in Gdansk, he began moat and other fresh water sources Gdansk and its surroundings, such as the Radunia , microscopic study. He paid particular attention to the world of small animals. As an amateur researcher, he did not pursue any scientific claims; for him as a theologian, however, it was precisely in the smallest forms of life that God's work was evident. He seems to have largely ignored scientific literature. His own publications in the field of microorganisms, however, were soon accepted in scientific research, and due to his precise observations and the exactness of his drawings he was given the rank of scientist. Presumably he was the first to see and describe the tardigrade in 1767 , but could not earn the fame for it, as his little work was not published until 1775, but the tardigrade was made known to the public by Johann August Ephraim Goeze as early as 1773 .

Works

  • Contributions to the natural history of the smallest aquatic animals that cannot be seen with the naked eye and that can be found in the waters of and Gdansk. Danzig 1775. New edition Berlin / Stettin 1781.
  • Addition to my contributions to the natural history of the smallest aquatic animals that cannot be seen with the naked eye, with two newly discovered aquatic animals along with a defense against Mr. Johann Caspar Fussly. Danzig 1783.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Eichhorn, Johann Conrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German pastor and zoologist
DATE OF BIRTH June 2, 1718
PLACE OF BIRTH Danzig
DATE OF DEATH September 17, 1790
Place of death Danzig