Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin

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Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin
Haemanthus coccineus L.
Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin 1798
Haemanthus pubescens L.
Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin 1798

Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin[1] or Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin. (February 16, 1727 – October 26, 1817) was a Dutch scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany.

He was born in Leiden in the Netherlands, where he studied medicine, but later moved first to Paris and then Vienna.

Between 1755 and 1759 Nikolaus von Jacquin was sent to the West Indies and Central America by Francis I to collect plants for the Schönbrunn Palace, and amassed a large collection of animal, plant and mineral samples.

In 1762, Nikolaus von Jacquin became Professor of Minerals and Mining at the Mining Academy in Schemnitz (now Banská Štiavnica in Slovakia). In 1768 he was appointed Professor of Botany and Chemistry and became Director of the botanical gardens of the University of Vienna. He was succeeded at the University of Vienna by his son, Joseph Franz von Jacquin.

In 1783, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

His younger son, Emil Gottfried (1767–1792), and his daughter, Franziska (1769–1850), were friends of Mozart; Mozart wrote two songs for Gottfried to publish under Gottfried's name (K. 520 Als Luise … and K. 530 Das Traumbild) and gave piano lessons to Franziska. Mozart dedicated a considerable number of his works to the Jacquin family, notably the Kegelstatt Trio. This was first played at the Jacquins' house in August 1786 with Franziska playing the piano.

He is commemorated by the genera Jacquinia (Theophrastaceae) and Jacquiniella (Orchidaceae).

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a title, translated as Baron, not a first or middle name. The female forms are Freifrau and Freiin.
  2. ^ "Author Query". International Plant Names Index. http://www.ipni.org/ipni/authorsearchpage.do. 

[edit] Jacquin's publications

[edit] Plantarum Rariorum Horti Caesarei Schoenbrunnensis Descriptiones et Icones