Nathanael Sendel

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Nathanael Sendel (* 1686 in Elbing , today Elbląg, Poland; † 1757 ibid) was a German doctor and natural scientist who made particular contributions to amber research.

life and work

Nathanael Sendel grew up in Elbing. He attended high schools in Elbing and Danzig (today Gdańsk). From 1709 he studied medicine at the University of Wittenberg . Sendel graduated from the University of Halle ; here he also obtained his medical doctorate. In 1713 he returned to his hometown, where he practiced as a doctor; from 1716 as city ​​physician of Elbing. There he became an active member of the Literary Society founded in 1721.

Amber with organic inclusions. Excerpt from panel III in Nathanael Sendel: "Historia Succinorum ..." (1742)

Sendel must have dealt with amber from an early age. In any case, among his scientific works, those who deal with this topic dominate quite early on. Sendel traveled to London in 1702, where he got to know the natural history collection of Hans Sloane , with whom he also exchanged letters. Sendel probably had a personal amber collection that later ended up in the collection of August the Strong via detours . This in turn had a natural history cabinet, which he had his personal physician Johann Heinrich Heucher rearranged in the 1820s with the participation of Nathanael Sendel. The resulting "Dresden Amber Cabinet" was divided into various collections at the end of the 18th century, only parts of which have survived. The description of the "Dresden Natural History Cabinet" is considered to be Sendel's main work. It is regarded as a pioneer for paleontological research on amber, although Sendel could not subscribe to the view expressed in ancient writings ( Pliny the Elder and Tacitus ) that amber is a tree resin and therefore of organic origin, but rather had the idea that was widespread in the Middle Ages , Amber arises in sedimentary veins in the sea floor (agstone veins) from oils and mineral additives. In Sendel's year of death, Mikhail Wassiljewitsch Lomonossow opposed this view with a scientific description of the formation of amber that is still valid today and that should point the way.

In 1743 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina .

Publications by Nathanael Sendel (selection)

  • Electrologiae per varia tentamina historica ac physica continuandae. 3 parts, 1725 to 1728.

In this work Sendel describes, among other things, the formation of amber and its properties. The work was translated into English while he was still alive.

  • Historia succinorum corpora aliena involventium et naturae opere pictorum et caelatorum. Leipzig, 1742.

Description of the Dresden Natural History Cabinet August the Strong, the "Historia" of animals, of amber inclusions, natural forms and artefacts.

literature

  • Norbert and Wilfried Wichard: Nathanael Sendel (1686–1757): A pioneer of paleobiological amber research. Palaeodiversity 1: 93-102; Stuttgart 2008. (also main source for this article).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ K. Hinrichs: Bernstein, the Prussian gold in art and natural history chambers and museums of the 16th – 20th centuries. Century. Dissertation, Humboldt University Berlin 2007
  2. ^ Member entry by Nathanael Sendel at the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina , accessed on June 26, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Sendel, Nathanael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German doctor, naturalist
DATE OF BIRTH 1686
PLACE OF BIRTH Elblag , East Prussia , today Elbląg , Poland
DATE OF DEATH 1757
Place of death Elblag , East Prussia , today Elbląg , Poland