Geography, Travel, History — Auktion 130 2. Tag
François Levaillant was a French ornithologist, traveler and writer.
Levaillant was born in Dutch Guiana, where his father was French consul. He returned with his family to France, where he eventually became a dealer in natural history specimens. At the age of 27, trained as an ornithologist, he traveled to southern Africa with the Dutch East India Company to collect specimens for his collection. Levaillant was one of the first naturalist explorers to venture into uncharted and dangerous Africa to see and study birds in their natural habitat.
Returning to France in 1785 after several years of traveling, he began writing ornithological works based on his diaries. His Histoire naturelle des perroquets (Natural History of Parrots) was published between 1801 and 1805, and his six-volume History of the Nature of Africa was published between 1799 and 1808. Levaillant also wrote the popular book Le Vaillant's Voyage to the Interior of Africa and others. He was one of the first Europeans to make ethnographic observations, empathizing with African peoples and treating them as equals.
Nikolaus von Jacquin, full name Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin, also Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin, was an Austrian and Dutch scientist, professor of chemistry and botany, and director of the Vienna Botanical Garden.
Jacquin is considered a pioneer of scientific botany in Austria. He wrote fundamental works in botany, was the first to describe many plants, fungi, and animals, introduced experimental methods in chemistry, and successfully campaigned for the introduction of Linnaeus' system of plants in Austria. On behalf of Emperor Franz I, von Jacquin was in charge of the imperial gardens (including Schoenbrunn) and also led a scientific expedition to Central America from 1754 to 1759, from which he returned with an extensive collection of plants.
In 1768, Nikolaus von Jacquin was appointed professor of botany and chemistry at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Vienna and director of the newly founded botanical garden, which he reorganized according to scientific principles. Nikolaus von Jacquin was a member of the Royal Society of London, a foreign honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, and a correspondent of the Paris Academy of Sciences.
Ulysses S. Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant, was an American politician and military leader who was the 18th President of the United States (March 4, 1869 - March 4, 1877).
Grant's father was a tanner and enrolled his son in the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Ulysses Grant distinguished himself in the Mexican-American War, then fought in the Civil War, was a brigadier general, and was given command of the District of Southeast Missouri. In March, 1864, Grant became lieutenant general and was given command of all the armies of the United States. In 1866, he was promoted to the newly established rank of general in the U.S. Army.
Grant continued as commander-in-chief after Lincoln's assassination and during the administration of U.S. President Andrew Johnson. However, the situation was such that Ulysses Grant won the next presidential election and became the 18th President of the United States on March 4, 1869. He was politically inexperienced and personally clean, but his time as president was marked by corruption and scandals. During his two presidential terms, Grant worked hard to re-unite the North and South, opposing the nascent Ku Klux Klan.
In 1877, after leaving the presidency, Grant traveled around the world with his wife, and everywhere he was received with glee. Then his attempts at business led to complete bankruptcy. Ulysses Grant spent the last years of his life writing his memoirs while battling poverty and throat cancer. With the help of writer Mark Twain, his two-volume work was published in 1885, two months before the author's death.
Tom Hunter is a London-based British artist working in photography and film. His photographs often reference and reimagine classical paintings. He was the first photographer to have a one-man show at the National Gallery, London.
Hunter has shown work internationally in exhibitions, his work is held in a number of public collections and he has had four books published. He has won various awards including an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society.
