Ludwig Preiss
Ludwig Preiss | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 November 1811 |
| Died | 21 May 1883(aged 71) |
| Nationality | German/British |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
Johann August Ludwig Preiss(21 November 1811 – 21 May 1883) was a German-born British botanist and zoologist.
Early life
[edit]Preiss was born inHerzberg am Harz.He obtained a doctorate, probably atHamburg,then emigrated toWestern Australia.
Australia
[edit]Preiss was one of a number of influential German-speaking residents — such asLudwig Becker,Hermann Beckler,William Blandowski,Amalie Dietrich,Wilhelm Haacke,Diedrich Henne,Gerard Krefft,Johann Luehmann,Johann Menge,Carl Mücke (a.k.a. Muecke),Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker (a.k.a. Ruemker),Moritz Richard Schomburgk,Richard Wolfgang Semon,Karl Theodor Staiger,George Ulrich,Eugene von Guérard,Robert von Lendenfeld,Ferdinand von Mueller,Georg von Neumayer,andCarl Wilhelmi— who brought their "epistemic traditions" to Australia, and not only became "deeply entangled with the Australian colonial project", but also were "intricately involved in imagining, knowing and shaping colonial Australia" (Barrett, et al., 2018, p.2).[2]
He arrived at theSwan River Colonyon board theBritmarton 4 December 1838, remaining there until January 1842; during this time he became a British subject.
Specimens
[edit]During his time in Western Australia, Preiss collected about 200,000 plant specimens, containing from 3,000 to 4,000 species.[3]His collections, together with those ofJames Drummond,formed the basis for early study of Western Australian flora. In 1842, he left Western Australia forLondon,where he broke up and sold his plant collection to recoup his costs. Various botanists published species based on his specimens, and these were later collated byJohann Lehmannto form the multi-volumePlantae Preissianae Sive Enumeratio Plantarum Quas in Australasia Occidentali et Meridionale Occidentali Annis 1838-41 Collegit L,published in Hamburg between 1844 and 1848.
The specimens collected by Preiss were not limited to plants: they included birds, reptiles, insects andmolluscs.The molluscs were described byKarl Theodor Menkeand published inHanoverin 1843 titledMolluscorum Novae Hollandiae Specimen.In October 1839, Preiss tried to sell his collection of bird skins to the colonial government inPerth,but it was declined. Preiss's collection of animals was sold in parts throughout Europe to museums and collectors. The only distinguishable collection of any note, still extant, is in the Municipal Museum of Halberstadt.[4] The collection of bird skins, representatives of 181 species, was also distributed to various museums; one set that was viewed in 1937 at Hamburg's Zoölogical Museum was lost when the building was destroyed in the subsequent bombing campaigns at the city.[5]
The first specimen of theWestern Swamp Tortoisewas collected by Preiss in 1839 and sent to the Vienna Museum where it was labelledNew Holland,but was not namedPseudemydura umbrinauntil 1901 by Seibenrock. No further collections of the species were recorded until 1953.[6]
Germany
[edit]Preiss returned to Herzberg am Harz in 1844 and settled there. He died there on 21 May 1883. It had been on his recommendation thatFerdinand von Muellermoved to Australia in 1847.
Commemorated
[edit]Preiss is commemorated in the names of about 100 species of flora in Western Australia, including plants in the generaAcacia,Allocasuarina,Eucalyptus,Grevillea,Hakea,Kunzea,Melaleuca,Santalum,XanthorrhoeaandCallitris.
Footnotes
[edit]- ^Stearn, WT (1939) Lehmann's "Plantae Preissianae".Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 1, 203-205.
- ^In relation to "Australasia", another German-speaking explorer and geologist,Julius von Haast (1822-1887),was appointed as the inaugural Curator/Director of theCanterbury Museum,inChristchurch, New Zealandin 1867.
- ^Preiss, JA Ludwig - botanical collectorAustralian Nation Botanical Gardens(Biography)
- ^Calaby, ADB
- ^Serventy, D. L.;Whittell, H. M. (1951).A handbook of the birds of Western Australia (with the exception of the Kimberley division)(2nd ed.). Perth: Paterson Brokensha.
- ^National Recovery Plan for the Western Swamp Tortoise (Pseudemydura umbrina)Dept Environment and Water Resources
- ^International Plant Names Index.L.Preiss.
References
[edit]- Barrett, L., Eckstein, L., Hurley, A.W. & Schwarz A. (2018), "Remembering German-Australian Colonial Entanglement: An Introduction",Postcolonial Studies,Vol.21, No.1, (January 2018), pp.1-5.doi:10.1080/13688790.2018.1443671
- Calaby, J.H. (1967)Preiss, Johann August Ludwig (1811–1883)Australian Dictionary of Biographyaccessed 2 February 2007
- Hall, Norman (1978).Botanists of the Eucalypts.Australia:Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.ISBN0643002715.
