Johann Friedrich Blumenbach

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Johann Friedrich Blumenbach

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (born May 11, 1752 in Gotha , † January 22, 1840 in Göttingen ) was a German anatomist and anthropologist . He is considered to be the main founder of zoology and anthropology as scientific disciplines. He was also important as an opponent of belief in spontaneous generation and preformation theory , as a representative of vitalism and as a racial theorist and one of the founders of scientific anti-racism .

Origin and family

Blumenbach's father was the Gotha high school professor Heinrich Blumenbach (1709–1787), his mother was Charlotte Eleonore Hedwig Buddeus (1727–1794), a daughter of the Gotha Vice Chancellor Karl Franz Buddeus . He had two siblings: Charlotte Sophie Henriette (d. 1802), married to the mathematician Johann Heinrich Voigt , and Friedrich Wilhelm Carl Ernst (d. 1806).

Blumenbach and his wife Louise Amalie (1752–1837), daughter of the lawyer Georg Friedrich Brandes , had four children: Georg Heinrich Wilhelm (1780–1855), later a privy councilor in Hanover and from 1818 married to Helene Ludovike Friederike Henriette, née. Cleve (1797-1875); Emma Marie Hedwig (1783–1819), from 1807 married to Carl Wilhelm Friedrich Theodor von Jasmund (1782–1847); Charlotte Friederike Adelheid (Adele) (1787-1837); Carl Ludwig Edmund (1788–1814), lieutenant in the King's German Legion ("Royal German Legion"), died in the Battle of Toulouse. Georg Heinrich Wilhelm Blumenbach is the father of the painter Robert Blumenbach (1822–1914).

Life

Memorial plaque on the birthplace

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach was born in Fritzelsgasse 1 in Gotha. After attending the Gothaer Gymnasium Illustre he studied medicine at the University of Jena with Carl Friedrich Kaltschmied from 1769 and after his death with Johann Ernst Neubauer . 1772, he continued his studies at the University of Goettingen away and was in 1775 with the work De humani generis varietate nativa : (German about the natural differences in the human race ) PhD . In 1776 he became an associate professor of medicine and inspector of the natural history collection in Göttingen, and in 1778 a full professor.

As a student and as a professor he was a member of a student order , the ZN order , which was very influential in Göttingen for a short time , and in 1784 its senior .

For almost 60 years he lectured on natural history, comparative anatomy , physiology and the history of medicine and was celebrated as the Magister Germaniae by the Friends of Natural History and was curator of the Royal Academic Museum. He retired in 1835 and died in 1840. Blumenbach found his final resting place in the Albani cemetery in Göttingen.

Act

JF Blumenbach, engraving by Ludwig Emil Grimm (1823)

Blumenbach is considered to be an essential founder of zoology and anthropology as scientific disciplines. He was mainly active in the field of comparative anatomy , about which he was the first (before Georges Cuvier ) to offer special lectures at a university in 1785 . His handbook of comparative anatomy and physiology (Göttingen 1804, 3rd edition 1824) has been translated into almost all languages ​​of Europe.

In addition, he was one of the most important critics of the then prevailing belief in spontaneous generation and preformation theory and instead advocated the theory of epigenesis . On the basis of, among other things, observations of the development of the incubated hen's egg and the human embryo (whereby he relied on the investigation of miscarriages) he showed (as Caspar Friedrich Wolff did before him ) that the offspring of animals and humans did not start from the beginning are preformed in the germ and only need to grow, but that their shape only develops gradually (epigenesis).

He was also influential as a representative of vitalism in that he postulated that all living beings have an " educational instinct " ( Nisus formativus ), which distinguishes them from inanimate bodies and causes their development and reproduction.

In his dissertation De generis humanis varietate nativa in 1775, Blumenbach examined the anatomical and morphological varieties of humans. He came to the conclusion that these varieties are, firstly, only of an external nature and meaningless for the intellectual abilities of humans and, secondly, that they represent a continuous spectrum, so that it is not possible to draw firm boundaries between different human populations. In contrast to the opinion, which soon became popular, that each “race” had arisen separately, he therefore assumed a uniform origin of humanity from a “ species ”. Following Carl von Linné and at the same time as Immanuel Kant's book Von der different Rassen der Menschen he described - in the sense of a scientific system, not as a representation of a physical reality - four morphological varieties of humans.

In this system, the "white" or "Caucasian" forms the main or middle race. He coined the term “ Caucasian ” to denote European populations and considered peoples that were “mostly white”. In addition to the groups of Asians, Africans and Americans, he defined from 1779 a fifth human variety in Southeast Asia, Polynesia and Australia, which he called "Malaica" (in German publications "Malay") from 1795. Blumenbach's choice of the Caucasian breed as the main breed was based solely on aesthetic feelings.

In massive form, Blumenbach turned against his Frankfurt specialist colleague Samuel Thomas von Soemmerring , who, after the autopsy of several corpses of African people, believed he could say that blacks were a species inferior to Europeans. Blumenbach also opposed the racist theses of his Göttingen colleague Christoph Meiners , who openly advocated the maintenance of slavery and tried to justify racial differences. He collected and published evidence of the intellectual equality of all people. With this and with his research on the anatomical-morphological unit of the human species, he became one of the founders of scientific anti-racism and was perceived as such by contemporaries at the beginning of the 19th century - for example Henri Grégoire . Blumenbach's interest in Africa went beyond mere anthropology. He worked closely with British researchers such as Sir Joseph Banks together and gave young explorer like Friedrich Hornemann and Johann Ludwig Burckhardt to the African Association that the exploration of himself sub-Saharan Africa had taken on the task.

As a paleontologist , Blumenbach was the first to describe the woolly mammoth , the woolly rhinoceros and the giant deer (1799).

Honors

During his lifetime

Posthumously

Blumenbach monument in Gotha Castle Park
Blumenbach's grave in the Albani cemetery in Göttingen
  • The Blumenbach travel grant , donated in honor of Blumenbach , benefited scientists.
  • In 1858 the first streets in his hometown Gotha were named after city personalities. The boards alleys between the Greten- and Fritzelsgasse was renamed flowers Bachgässchen. In 1914, this was expanded with the addition of the neighboring Brandgasse and by creating a breakthrough to the current Bertha-von-Suttner-Straße to the Blumenbachstraße.
  • In 1874 a memorial plaque was placed on his Göttingen house in Neustadt 12.
  • In 1878 a memorial stone with a portrait relief of Blumenbach by Friedrich Drake was erected in the park in front of Friedenstein Castle.
  • On January 22, 1940, the 100th anniversary of Blumenbach's death, the plaque created by the Gotha sculptor Victor Embser (1879–1950) was unveiled at the house where Blumenbach was born. As a result, this house remained standing at the demolition of the western old town.
  • Blumenbachstrasse in Göttingen and Munich
  • Blumenbachweg in Berlin-Marzahn , named after 1925
  • Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology at the Georg-August University of Göttingen
  • In 1989 the district hospital in Gotha was named after Blumenbach.

Fonts (selection)

Blumenbach assumed five human varieties, including his skull

A comprehensive bibliography can be found in: Frank PW Dougherty: Bibliography of the works and writings of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach along with their translations and digitizations . Ed. Norbert Klatt, Göttingen 2009 (Small Contributions to Blumenbach Research 2) ( PDF ) and in Claudia Kroke: Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. Bibliography of his writings. With the collaboration of Wolfgang Böker and Reimer Eck. (= Writings on the history of the University of Göttingen. 2). Göttingen: Universitätsverlag, 2010. (online) . Here including the digital copies (PDF and HTML) of Blumenbach's writings.

Books
Magazines
  • Decas collectionis suae craniorum diversarum gentium. In: Commentationes Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Gottingensis. Göttingen 1791–1820.
    • Volume 10, Johann Christian Dieterich, Göttingen 1791, pp. 3-27. (on-line)
    • Volume 11, Johann Christian Dieterich, Göttingen 1793, pp. 59-71. (on-line)
    • Volume 12, Johann Christian Dieterich, Göttingen 1796, pp. 38-51. (on-line)
    • Volume 14, Johann Christian Dieterich, Göttingen 1800, pp. 35-48. (on-line)
    • Volume 16, Heinrich Dieterich, Göttingen 1808, pp. 199-216. (on-line)
    • Volume 18, Heinrich Dieterich, Göttingen 1820, pp. 159-174. (online) .

literature

Biographical Notes

Letters

Dougherty, Frank William Peter: The correspondence of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. Rev., augm. and ed. by Norbert Klatt. Vol. 1-6 (1773-1805). Göttingen: Klatt, 2006–2015. Crumbs for Blumenbach research; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Volume 3 (1786–1790), Volume 4 (1791–1795), Volume 5 (1796–1800) and Volume 6 (1801–1805) are available in the digital library of the Lower Saxony State and Göttingen University Library and the German National Library are available online.

Remarks on the previously developed (published) correspondence (as of 2020) from Blumenbach are available online at ( Johann Friedrich Blumenbach - Online: Regesten zu Blumenbach's correspondence ).

To the reception

  • Martina Kerzel, Mike Reich , Heiko Weber: The edition " Johann Friedrich Blumenbach - online " of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen. In: H. Neuroth, N. Lossau, A. Rapp (Hrsg.): Evolution of the information infrastructure. Cooperation between library and science. vwh Verlag, Glückstadt / Universitätsverlag, Göttingen 2013, ISBN 978-3-86488-043-8 , pp. 107-136. (PDF)
  • Claudia Kroke: Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. Bibliography of his writings (= writings on the history of the University of Göttingen. Volume 2). With the collaboration of Wolfgang Böker and Reimer Eck. Universitäts-Verlag, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-941875-64-7 . (PDF) .
  • Gundolf Krüger: Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, England and the early Göttingen ethnology. In: Elmar Mittler (Ed.): “One world alone is not enough”. Great Britain, Hanover and Göttingen 1714–1837 (= Göttingen library publications . Volume 31). Catalog for the exhibition in the Paulinerkirche March 20 - May 20, 2005. Lower Saxony State and University Library. Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3-930457-75-X , pp. 202-220.
  • Hans Plischke : Johann Friedrich Blumenbach's influence on the explorers of his time (= treatises of the Society of Sciences in Göttingen. Philological-Historical Class. 3rd episode, Volume 20, ZDB -ID 242605-5 ). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1937.
  • Nicolaas Rupke , Gerhard Lauer (ed.): Johann Friedrich Blumenbach: Race and Natural History, 1750-1850 . Routledge, London 2019, ISBN 978-1-138-73842-3 .

Web links

Commons : Johann Friedrich Blumenbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Johann Friedrich Blumenbach  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Adolf Kleinschmidt:  Blumenbach, Johann Friedrich. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, ISBN 3-428-00183-4 , p. 329 f. ( Digitized version ).
  2. ^ Frank William Peter Dougherty: The correspondence of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. Rev., augm. and ed. by Norbert Klatt. Volume 6 (1801-1805). Klatt, Göttingen 2015, p. 254 Letter 1549 Note 3.
  3. ^ Frank William Peter Dougherty: The correspondence of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. Rev., augm. and ed. by Norbert Klatt. Volume 3 (1786-1790). Klatt, Göttingen 2010, p. IX.
  4. ^ "Johann Friedrich Blumenbach's descendants, compiled by Dr. Friedrich Bonhoff. Hamburg 1924 ”. Printed single sheet with family tree. Copy in the manuscript department of the State and University Library Göttingen, portrait collection, folder "Blumenbach, Johann Friedrich". The author of the family tree, Friedrich Bonhoff (1883–1966), was married to a descendant of JF Blumenbach.
  5. ↑ Mike Reich, Annina Böhme, Alexander Gehler, Lea D. Numberger-Thuy: "Preziosen Any Color" - Object digitization of the natural history collections of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840) . In: Philippia . tape 15 , no. 2 . Kassel June 2012, p. 155-168 ( researchgate.net ).
  6. ↑ Mike Reich, Alexander Gehler: The purchase of the private collection of JF Blumenbach (1752-1840) by the University of Göttingen . In: Philippia . tape 15 , no. 3 . Kassel December 2012, p. 169-187 ( researchgate.net ).
  7. ↑ Walter Richter: The Esperance and ZN order. In: then and now. 1974 yearbook of the Society for Corps Student History Research. Pp. 30-54.
  8. ↑ Lecture announcements
  9. ↑ Mike Reich: On the early history of the Göttingen university collections . In: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Ed.): Things of knowledge. The collections, museums and gardens of the University of Göttingen . 1st edition. Wallstein, Göttingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-8353-1064-3 , p. 79-88 .
  10. ↑ Mike Reich, Alexander Gehler: The bones of the ice age travel. Cold-age large mammals reveal knowledge for the 21st century . In: Georgia Augusta. Science magazine of the Georg August University of Göttingen . No. 8 . Göttingen 2012, p. 44-50 ( researchgate.net ).
  11. ↑ Ilse Jahn, Rolf Löther, Konrad Senglaub (eds.): History of Biology. Jena 1985, p. 637.
  12. ^ Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. In: Allgemeine Zeitung. Munich 1840, No. 34, February 3, supplement, p. 265 f.
  13. ↑ J. Stahnke: Ludwik Teichmann (1823–1895). Anatomist in Krakow. In: Würzburg medical history reports. 2, 1984, pp. 205-267; here: p. 210.
  14. ↑ Jahn & al, p. 248.
  15. ↑ Jahn & al, p. 248 f.
  16. ↑ Wolfgang Böker: Blumenbach´s collection of human skulls. In: Nicolaas Rupke, Gerhard Lauer (ed.): Johann Friedrich Blumenbach: Race and Natural History, 1750-1850 . London / New York 2019, pp. 80–95.
  17. ^ Johann Friedrich Blumenbach: Handbook of natural history. Göttingen 1779, p. 63f. Bayerische StaatsBibliothek digital, 7th edition. 1803, here p.66f. . Blumenbach, Johann Friedrich: De generis humani varietate nativa. 3rd edition Göttingen 1795, p. 286.
  18. ^ Nell Irvin Painter: Why White People are Called Caucasian? P. 23. Retrieved May 21, 2020 .
  19. ^ Dougherty, Frank William Peter: Johann Friedrich Blumenbach and Samuel Thomas Soemmerring. A discussion in anthropological terms? In: Mann, Gunter; Dumont, Franz (ed.): Samuel Thomas Soemmerring and the scholars of Goethe's time. Stuttgart: Fischer, 1985, pp. 35-56. (Reprinted in: Dougherty, Frank William Peter: Collected essays on topics from the classical period of natural history. Göttingen: Klatt, 1996, pp. 160–175.) (Digitized version ) .
  20. ^ Dougherty, Frank William Peter: Christoph Meiners and Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in the dispute over the concept of the human race. In: Mann, Gunter; Dumont, Franz (ed.): The nature of man. Problems of physical anthropology and racial studies (1750–1850). Stuttgart: Fischer, 1990, pp. 89-111. (Reprinted in: Dougherty, Frank William Peter: Collected essays on topics from the classical period of natural history. Göttingen: Klatt, 1996, pp. 176-190.) (Digitized version ) .
  21. ↑ Blumenbach, Johann Friedrich: Contributions to natural history. First part, second edition. Göttingen 1806, pp. 73-97.
  22. ^ Nicolaas Rupke, Gerhard Lauer (Ed.): Johann Friedrich Blumenbach: Race and Natural History, 1750-1850 . London / New York: Routledge, 2019; here especially the essays Thomas Junker : Blumenbach's theory of human races and the natural unity of humankind and Nicolaas Adrianus Rupke : The origins of scientific racism and Huxley's Rule
  23. ↑ Ibid., Article Introduction: A brief history of Blumenbach representations (NA Rupke; Gerhard Lauer ), esp. Pp. 3–5. (Digitized version) .
  24. ↑ Mike Reich, Alexander Gehler: Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840) and the first mammoth finds from the edge of the Harz . In: Ulrich Joger, Claudia Kamcke (Ed.): Mammut. Ice Age elephants . 1st edition. State Natural History Museum, Braunschweig 2005, p. 13-15 .
  25. ↑ Mike Reich, Alexander Gehler, Dick Mol, Hans van der Plicht, Adrian Lister: The rediscovery of type material of Mammuthus primigenius (Mammalia: Proboscidea) / Переоткрытие типого материала Mammuthus primigenius (Mammalia: Proboscidea) . In: GG Boeskorov [Боескоров, Г.Г.] (Ed.): IV Meždunarodnaā mamontovaā konferenziā g. Yakutsk, 18‐22 iūnā 2007 goda. Tecisy dokladov. [IV Международная мамонтовая конференцйя г. Якутск, 18‐22 июня 2007 года. Тезисы докладов ] . Ministerstvo nauki i professional'nogo obracovaniā Respubliki Saha (Akutiā). [Министерство науки и профессионаљного образования Республики Саха (Якутиа)], Jakutsk [Якутск] June 2007, p. 81-82 .
  26. ↑ Alexander Gehler, Mike Reich, Dick Mol, Hans van der Plicht: The type material of Coelodonta antiquitatis (Blumenbach) (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae) . In: G. Boeskorov (Ed.): IV International mammoth conference, Yakutsk. June 18-22, 2007. Abstracts . Ministry of science and professional education of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk June 2007, p. 178-179 .
  27. ↑ entry on Blumenbach; Johann Friedrich (1752–1840) in the Archives of the Royal Society , London
  28. ↑ Member History: Johann F. Blumenbach. American Philosophical Society, accessed May 8, 2018 .
  29. ^ List of members since 1666: Letter B. Académie des sciences, accessed on September 22, 2019 (French).
  30. ↑ Member entry by Prof. Dr. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (with picture) at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences , accessed on February 3, 2016.
  31. ^ Members of the previous academies. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities , accessed on February 23, 2015 .
  32. ^ Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed October 9, 2019 .
  33. ↑ Kaspar Friedrich Gottschalck : Almanach der Ritter-Orden , Volume 3, Goeschen, 1819, p. 247.
  34. ↑ member entry by Friedrich Blumenbach in the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina , accessed on February 3, 2016th
  35. ^ Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1724. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. Russian Academy of Sciences, accessed August 2, 2015 .
  36. ↑ J. Stahnke: Ludwik Teichmann (1823–1895). Anatomist in Krakow. In: Würzburg medical history reports. 2, 1984, pp. 205-267; here: p. 210.
  37. ^ Walter Nissen: Göttingen memorial tablets. Göttingen 1962, p. 29.
  38. ↑ General indicator. Gotha edition of January 28, 2009, p. 21.
  39. ↑ Blumenbachweg. In: Street name lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein (near  Kaupert )
  40. ↑ gotha.thueringer-allgemeine.de of January 28, 2012: Ruins in Gothaer Land: Battered old hospital , accessed on August 17, 2015.
  41. ↑ Michael Schultz, Mike Reich: Blumenbachsche skull collection . In: Georg August University of Göttingen (ed.): The collections, museums and gardens of the University of Göttingen . 1st edition. Universitätsverlag, Göttingen 2013, p. 50‐51 ( researchgate.net ).
personal data
SURNAME Blumenbach, Johann Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German anatomist and anthropologist
DATE OF BIRTH May 11, 1752
PLACE OF BIRTH Gotha
DATE OF DEATH January 22, 1840
Place of death Goettingen