Johan Christian Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius | |
---|---|
University of Kiel | |
Author abbrev. (botany) | J.Fabr. |
Author abbrev. (zoology) | Fabricius |
Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish
Biography
Johan Christian Fabricius was born on 7 January 1745 at Tønder in the Duchy of Schleswig, where his father was a doctor.[2][3] He studied at the gymnasium at Altona and entered the University of Copenhagen in 1762.[4] Later the same year he travelled together with his friend and relative Johan Zoëga to Uppsala, where he studied under Carl Linnaeus for two years.[4] On his return, he started work on his Systema entomologiae, which was finally published in 1775.[4] Throughout this time, he remained dependent on subsidies from his father, who worked as a consultant at Frederiks Hospital.[4]
Fabricius was appointed a professor in Copenhagen in 1770, and in 1775 or 1776, the
During his time in Kiel, Fabricius repeatedly travelled to London in the summer to study the collections of British collectors, such as Joseph Banks and Dru Drury.[5] Towards the end of his career, Fabricius spent much of his time living in Paris, where he frequently met with naturalists such as Georges Cuvier and Pierre André Latreille;[3] he was also interested in the events of the French Revolution. On hearing of the British attack on Copenhagen in 1807, Fabricius returned to Kiel, damaging his already fragile health. He died on 3 March 1808, at the age of 63.[3] His daughter died in an accident in Paris, but he was survived by two sons, who both studied medicine.[2]
Evolution
The evolutionary ideas of Fabricius are not well known. He believed that man originated from the great apes and that new species could be formed by the hybridization of existing species.[6] He also has been called the "Father of Lamarckism" because of his belief that new species could form from morphological adaptation.[6][7] Fabricius wrote about the influence of environment on development of species and selection phenomena (females preferring the strongest males).[6][8]
Works
Fabricius is considered one of the greatest
Fabricius added two distinct areas to the classification system. He considers both artificial and natural characteristics. Artificial characteristics allow for the determination of a species, and natural ones allow for the relationship to other genera and varieties.[8]
In contrast to Linnaeus' classification of the insects, which was based primarily on the number of
Fabricius was the first to divide the
His major works on systematic entomology were:[8]
- Systema entomologiae (1775)
- Genera insectorum (1776)
- Species insectorum (1781). Full title: Species insectorum, exhibentes eorum differentias specificas, synonyma auctorum, loca natalia, metamorphosin, adjectis observationibus, descriptionibus
- Mantissa insectorum (1787)
- Entomologia systematica emendata et aucta (1792–1799)
- Systema eleuthatorum (1801)
- Systema rhyngotorum (1803)
- Systema piezatorum (1804)
- Systema antliatorum (1805)
- Systema glossatorum (1807)
Many of his works can be found in digital libraries:
- Biodiversity Heritage Library (24 items[12])
- Google Books (24 items[12])
- Gallica (12 items[12])
- HathiTrust (1 item[12][13])
Fabricius' collections are shared between the
Fabricius also wrote a few works on economics, although these are much less important than his zoological works. They include Begyndelsesgrundene i de økonomiske Videnskaber (1773), Polizeischriften (1786–1790) and Von der Volksvermehrung, insonderheit in Dänemark (1781).[4]
References
- ^ Bengt-Olaf Landin 1971 Dictionary of Scientific Biography Vol 4, pp. 512-513. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87169-240-5.
- ^ PDF) on 19 July 2011.
- ^ Projekt Runeberg. 1891. pp. 24–30.
- ^ Hans G. Hansson. "Johan(n) Christian Fabricius". Biographical Etymology of Marine Organism Names. Göteborgs Universitet. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ a b c Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 4. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 512-513.
- ISBN 978-8779343177"Some historians of science have pointed out so many similarities between Fabricius and Lamarck that they find it possible the Frenchman in Paris was inspired by the Dane, implying that the latter was, in reality, "the father of Lamarckism".
- ^ .
- ISBN 978-3-925064-37-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-82149-0.
- ^ Smetana, Ales.; Herman, Lee H. (2001). "Brief history of taxonomic studies of the Staphylinidae including biographical sketches of the investigators" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 265: 17–160. Retrieved 28 July 2011. [Fabricius: pp. 61–62]
- ^ a b c d Date 28 March 2015.
- ^ Species insectorum: vol. 1, vol. 2
- ^ International Plant Names Index. J.Fabr.
Further reading
- Henning Ratjen (1877), "Fabricius, Johann Christian", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 6, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 521–522
- Friedrich Hoffmann (1959), "Fabricius, Johann Christian", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 4, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 736–737
- ZMCU Collection contents online
- Digital version of Entomologia systematica, emendata et aucta
- Henriksen, Kai L. (1932) Johann Christian Fabricius, pp. 76–80 in: Meisen, V. Prominent Danish Scientists through the Ages. University Library of Copenhagen 450th Anniversary. Levin & Munksgaard, Copenhagen.
External links
Data related to Johan Christian Fabricius at Wikispecies
- Circumscriptional names
- AnimalBase Comprehensive Fabricius literature and Fabricius taxa list.
- ITIS "Taxon authors": list of taxa described by Fabricius
- Works by Johan Christian Fabricius at the Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Encyclopedia of Life−EOL.org: Taxa described by Fabricius — Type Fabricius into the search box, complete and many supported by images.]
- An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera London 1858 — biography on page XVI gives Fabricius' own account of his travels.