Johann Anton Güldenstädt(26 April 1745 inRiga,Latvia– 23 March 1781 inSt. Petersburg,Russia) was aBaltic Germannaturalistandexplorerin Russian service.
Johann Anton Güldenstädt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 April 1745 Old Style; 7 May New Style Riga,Latvia |
| Died | 23 March 1781(aged 35) 3 April New Style St. Petersburg,Russia |
| Education | Berlin,University of Frankfurt (Oder) |
| Known for | The first systematic study of the Caucasus |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Naturalist and explorer |
| Institutions | Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences |
| Patrons | Catherine the Great |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Gueldenst. |
| Author abbrev. (zoology) | Güldenstädt |
Güldenstädt lost both his parents early, and from 1763 onwards studiedpharmacy,botanyandnatural historyinBerlin.At the age of 22, he obtained his doctorate inmedicineat theUniversity of Frankfurtin 1767. In the following year, he joined theRussian Imperial Academy of Sciences'expedition sent byCatherine II of Russiato explore the Russian empire's southern frontier. Güldenstädt travelled throughUkraineand theAstrakhanregion, as well as the northernCaucasusandGeorgia,both of which were almost entirely beyond the borders of the Russian empire. In March 1775 he returned toSt Petersburg.The results of the expedition and Güldenstädt's edited expedition journal were published after his death byPeter Simon PallasinReisen durch Russland und im Caucasischen Gebürge(Travels in Russia and the Mountains of the Caucasus) (1787–1791).
The expedition contributed greatly to the fields ofbiology,geology,geography,and particularlylinguistics.Güldenstädt took detailed notes on the languages of the region. After the expedition, which definitively established Güldenstädt's reputation at the Academy, he continued to work as a naturalist.
Güldenstädt's expedition was the first systematic study of the Caucasus. As was typical of contemporary expeditions organized in the spirit of theEnlightenment(including the later AmericanLewis and Clark Expedition), it was tasked with the observation and description of virtually every aspect of the region under study. This included both its "natural" attributes —flora,fauna,geography, andgeology— and its peoples, economy, and government. In this sense it was both a scientific expedition and a mission of reconnaissance to learn more about a region that was important in the simultaneousRussian war with the Ottomans,of which the Caucasus was a theater, with the Georgians acting as Russian allies. Immediately following the expedition, Russian interest in the region, particularly Georgia, grew markedly, culminating in theTreaty of Georgievsk,which made East Georgia a Russian protectorate.
In 1781, he died from an outbreak of fever in St. Petersburg.
Legacy
editGüldenstädt first described thejungle catin 1776 in his articleChaus – Animal feli adfine descriptum.[2]
He is commemorated in the names of:
Publications
edit- Chaus – Animal feli adfine descriptum.Commentarii Academiae Scientiarum Imperialis Petropolitanae Volume 20, St. Petersburg 1776. Pp. 483
- Reisen durch Rußland und im Caucasischen Gebürge.Russisch-Kayserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften (Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences). St. Petersburg,Volume 1, 1787;Volume 2, 1791.
- Путешествие по Кавказу в 1770–1773 гг(Puteshestvie po Kavkazu v 1770-1773 gg). Translated by T. K. Shafranovskaia. St. Petersburg: Peterburgskoe Vostokovedenie, 2002.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^International Plant Names Index.Gueldenst.
- ^Güldenstädt, J.A. (1776)Chaus – Animal feli adfine descriptum.Commentarii Academiae Scientiarum Imperialis Petropolitanae, Vol 20, St. Petersburg. Pp. 483
- Gnucheva, V. F. et al. 1940.Materialy dlia istorii ekspeditsii Akademii nauk v XVIII i XIX vekakh: khronologicheskie obzory i opisanie arkhivnykh materialov.Moscow: Izdatelstvo Akademii nauk SSSR.
- Kopelevich, Iudif’ Khaimovna 1997.Iogann Anton Gil’denshtedt, 1745-1781.Moscow: Nauka.
- Kosven, Mark Osipovich 1955. “Materialy po istorii etnografii Kavkaza v russkoi nauke”. Kavkazskii etnograficheskii sbornik. Vols. I, III. Ed. V. K. Gardanov. Moscow: Izdatelstvo Akademii nauk SSSR. I, Pp. 272–290. II, Pp. 267–281
- Lavrov, L. I. 1976. “K 250-letiiu akademicheskogo kavkazovedeniia v Rossii.” Kavkazskii etnograficheskii sbornik. Vol. VI. Ed. V. K. Gardanov. Moscow: Izdatelstvo Akademii nauk SSSR. Pp. 3–10