Scientists 19th century
Ivan Akimovich Akimov (Russian: Иван Акимович Акимов) was a Russian painter celebrated for his contributions to the Classical and Neoclassical styles of art. Born into a family of a typographer for the Governing Senate, Akimov's journey into the arts began early when, after his father's death, he penned a heartfelt letter to the Imperial Academy of Arts. This letter secured his admission, marking the start of his lifelong association with the Academy, where he evolved from a student to its director.
Akimov's education at the Academy was marked by numerous awards, including gold medals for his artworks, showcasing his burgeoning talent in painting. His artistic journey took him to Italy on a fellowship, where, despite initial challenges, he found mentorship under Pompeo Battoni and was inspired by the Venetian masters. This period was instrumental in shaping his skills and artistic outlook.
Throughout his career, Akimov was revered not just for his artistic output but also for his contributions to art education and historiography in Russia. He played a pivotal role at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, ultimately serving as its director. Akimov's legacy extends beyond his paintings, through his influence on future generations of artists and his foundational work in Russian art historiography. Among his notable works are "Prometheus Making a Statue at the Command of Minerva" and "The Baptism of Princess Olga in Constantinople", which reflect his classical influences and historical interests.
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Henry Walter Bates was a British naturalist, biologist and traveler.
As a young man, Henry worked in a factory and attended the local mechanical institute, where he excelled in Greek, Latin, French, drawing and composition, later learning German and Portuguese. He also practiced classical music and was an avid entomologist.
In 1844, Bates met entomologist Alfred Russel Wallace, who a few years later invited him to go to the tropical jungle on a scientific expedition. In May 1848, they arrived in Para, Brazil, near the mouth of the Amazon River. Wallace returned to England four years later, but Bates remained there for a total of 11 years, exploring the entire Amazon Valley, where he collected some 14,712 species, mostly insects, of which 8,000 were previously unknown.
On his return to England in 1859, Bates began working on his vast collections and preparing a famous paper published in 1862 entitled Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley. In 1864 Bates was appointed assistant secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (London), a position he held until his death. He wrote The Naturalist on the Amazon River (1863), as well as many works on entomology.
Bates's work in demonstrating the action of natural selection in animal mimicry (imitation of other living organisms or inanimate objects) provided strong support for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Much of Bates's insect collections are in the British Museum.
Jan Bleuland was a Dutch physician, medical scientist, educator and writer.
Bleuland was an intellectually advanced man, a sought-after physician, and a rich lover of the arts. Jan Bleuland taught anatomy, physiology and obstetrics for 31 years and was professor and rector of Utrecht University. His talents as a physician and medical researcher were recognized not only by his patients and the scientific community, but also by the highest authorities.
During his lifetime, Jan Bleuland amassed a large collection of medical specimens of the human body, which he used for research. Part of this significant collection is still on display in the original wooden Bleulandkabinet in the Utrecht University Museum. The Bleulandkabinet contains an extensive collection of skeletons, embryos in alcohol and wax preparations of body parts. His pioneering preparations were acquired by Utrecht University by royal decree of King Willem I in 1815 and are still used as teaching material.
Joseph Georg Böhm was an Austrian astronomer, astrophysicist, cartographer, mathematician, and educator.
At the University of Prague, Böhm attended lectures in mathematics, physics, astronomy, and, after receiving his doctorate, became an assistant at the Vienna Observatory under Joseph Johann von Littrow. He then worked at the observatory at Othen and taught mathematics at the University of Salzburg. In 1839 he was appointed professor of mathematics and practical geometry at the University of Innsbruck, and in 1848 he was elected its rector. In 1852 Böhm was appointed director of the Prague Observatory and professor of theoretical and practical astronomy at the University of Prague.
Georg Böhm published several significant astronomical papers on solar observation. He is the creator of several instruments for astronomical measurements and observations, and he designed the Uranoscope and Universal Gnomon for amateur astronomical observations for the general public. As a member of the commission for the repair of the Prague Astronomical Clock, which he joined in 1865, he wrote a detailed description of it in the work Beschreibung der alterthümlichen Prager Rathausuhr. In addition to astronomy and its popularization, he was also involved in agriculture, economics, and geodesy. One of his important works is Ballistic Experiments (1865).
Bernard Bolzano, full name Bernard Placidus Johann Nepomuk Bolzano, was an Italian-born Czech scientist, mathematician, logician, philosopher and theologian.
Bolzano graduated from the University of Prague and was immediately appointed professor of philosophy and religion at the university. Within a few years, however, Bolzano had already shown himself to be a free thinker with his teachings on the social costs of militarism and the needlessness of war. He called for a complete reform of the educational, social, and economic systems that would direct the nation's interests toward peace rather than armed conflict between states. In 1819, Bolzano was expelled from the university for his beliefs and thereafter turned his full attention to works on social, religious, philosophical, and mathematical issues.
Bolzano held advanced views on logic, mathematical quantities, limits, and continuity. He is the author of the first rigorous theory of real numbers and one of the founders of set theory. In his studies of the physical aspects of force, space, and time, he proposed theories opposed to those advanced by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. His contributions to logic, in particular, established his reputation as the greatest logician of his time. Much of his work remained unpublished during his lifetime and was not widely disseminated until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when a number of his conclusions were reached independently.
Bolzano was multi-talented in various fields of science to which he made significant contributions. His published works include The Binomial Theorem (1816), A Purely Analytic Proof (1817), The Functional Model and the Scientific Model (1834), An Attempt at a New Statement of Logic (1837), and The Paradoxes of Infinity (1851).
Among other things, Bolzano was also a great philanthropist. Together with his friends and students, he supported the activities of almshouses, homes for the blind, loan banks for the working class, libraries, and elementary schools in rural areas.
Matthieu Bonafous was a prominent French botanist and agronomist.
Bonafous was an innovator in 19th century agronomy, specializing in technical farming, with a particular interest in corn and its economic importance as a food crop. He also studied mulberry trees and created new species for silkworm breeding, and wrote many scientific articles, including one on rice.
As a teacher, Matthieu Bonafous offered a traveling course based on direct contact with practitioners of scientific farming.
Aimé Bonpland, born Aimé Jacques Alexandre Goujaud, was a French and Argentine natural scientist, traveler, physician, and botanist.
Bonpland became famous for his participation in an expedition to the Americas. Together with the explorer Alexander von Humboldt, he traveled through much of the American territory, from Cuman to the United States, passing through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, and Cuba, in addition to Venezuela. In all these places he did a great deal of botanical work, describing and collecting six thousand species of American plants, many of which were new. The scientist made them known in Europe after his return in 1804, publishing several scientific papers. Four years later, Bonpland was appointed botanist of the Empress's Garden.
After more years, he returned to Buenos Aires and continued numerous botanical, zoological, and medical studies in various regions of South America. Bonpland sent plants to the Museum of Natural History in Paris and maintained correspondence with its naturalists.
Mathurin Jacques Brisson was a French zoologist, ornithologist, naturalist and physicist, a member of the Academy of Sciences.
He is known for his published works in natural history: Le Règne animal ("The Kingdom of Animals", 1756) and Ornithologie ("Ornithology", 1760), in which he described 1,500 species of birds grouped into 115 genera, twenty-six orders, and two classes. Brisson was one of the first to come close to the concept of "type" in zoology, although he does not use the term, but his classification was used for about 100 years. He translated a number of important books on zoology for his time into French.
Brisson's works in physics are related to the measurement of specific gravity of various bodies, the study of gases and refraction of light, mirrors, magnetism, atmospheric electricity, and barometers.
Giovanni Battista Brocchi was an Italian mineralogist, geologist and paleontologist.
Brocchi studied law at the University of Padua, but was seriously interested in natural sciences and mineralogy. In 1802, Brocchi became a teacher of natural history at the Brescia Gymnasium. Appointment in 1808 as inspector of mines in Milan gave him the opportunity to travel extensively in Italy, making extensive notes and collecting numerous samples. The fruits of these labors appeared in various publications, notably his "Treatise mineralogical and chemical on the iron mines of the department of Mella" (1808). He then obtained a position as inspector of mining in the newly created kingdom of Italy.
In 1811 Brocchi wrote a valuable essay entitled "Mineralogical Memoirs on the Fassa Valley in the Tyrol." He made his first extensive exploration of central Italy in 1811-1812, witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius, and was able to compare the condition of its crater before and after the eruption. But his most important work is Fossils of the Sub-Apennines with geological observations on the Apennines and adjacent soil (1814), which contains precise details of the structure of the Apennine ridge and an account of the fossilization of Italian Tertiary strata in comparison with existing species. Brocchi also wrote several significant works on biology.
In the fall of 1822 he sailed from Trieste to Egypt, whence he made excursions up the Nile and into Syria and Palestine. In 1826 he contracted the bubonic plague, of which he died. His last journals and collections are preserved at the Museo Civico in Bassano. In all, Brocchi published five voluminous books and about seventy articles in various journals.
Victor Yakovlevich Bunyakovsky (Russian: Ви́ктор Я́ковлевич Буняко́вский) was a Russian mathematician, teacher, historian of mathematics, vice-president of the Academy of Sciences in 1864-1889. He made a significant contribution to number theory.
Eugène Burnouf was a French Orientalist scholar, linguist, and researcher of Buddhism in the mid-19th century.
Burnouf studied at the School of Law and the Collège de France. In collaboration with the Norwegian orientalist Christian Lassen, he published Essai sur le Pali (1826) in one of the languages of Indian Buddhism. He then undertook the decipherment of Zoroastrian manuscripts.
As professor of Sanskrit at the Collège de France (1832-1852), Burnouf made a significant contribution to the study of Zoroastrianism. He also made a Sanskrit edition and French translation of the important Hindu text Le Bhâgavata Purana (1840) and published a history of Buddhism (1845).
Carl Gustav Carus was a German painter of the first half of the 19th century. He is known as a landscape painter, as well as a scientist, physician (gynecologist, anatomist, pathologist, psychologist) and a major theorist of Romanticism in art.
Carus created idyllic landscapes depicting moonlit nights, mountains, forests, Gothic architecture and ruins. In his work, according to critics, he combined a romantic view of nature with the classical ideal of beauty, understood the beautiful as a triad of God, nature and man. Noteworthy are his small-format, spontaneously created landscape sketches with images of clouds. The master is the author of "Nine Letters on Landscape Painting" - one of the main theoretical works that laid the foundations of the German Romantic school of painting.
Augustin Louis Cauchy was a French mathematician and mechanic, military engineer, and founder of mathematical analysis.
Cauchy studied at the École Polytechnique and at the Paris School of Bridges and Roads. After becoming a military engineer, he went to Cherbourg in 1810 to work on harbors and fortifications for Napoleon's English invasion. Here he began independent mathematical research. Cauchy returned to Paris in 1813, and Lagrange and Laplace convinced him to devote himself entirely to mathematics. The following year he published a memoir on definite integrals, which formed the basis of the theory of complex functions. From 1816, Cauchy held professorships at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, the Collège de France, and the École Polytechnique in Paris.
Cauchy developed the foundation of mathematical analysis, and made enormous contributions to analysis, algebra, mathematical physics, and many other areas of mathematics. He almost single-handedly founded the theory of functions of a complex variable, which has extensive applications in physics. Cauchy's greatest contributions to mathematics are published primarily in three of his treatises, "Courses in Analysis at the Royal Polytechnic School" (1821), "Summary of Lessons on Infinitesimal Calculus" (1823), and "Lessons on the Application of Infinitesimal Values in Geometry" (1826-28). In all, Augustin Louis Cauchy wrote about 800 scientific articles.
Cauchy was a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London, the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, and other academies.
John Dalton was a British scientist, chemist and physicist, naturalist, and pioneer in the development of modern atomic theory.
In the 1800s, he was the first scientist to explain the behavior of atoms in terms of weight measurements. Some of the tenets of Dalton's atomic theory proved to be false, but most of the conclusions remain valid to this day.
Problems with his own eyesight led Dalton to research and describe the visual defect he himself suffered from in 1794 - color blindness, later named color blindness in his honor.
Francesco de Bourcard was a Swiss-born Italian scholar, historian and publisher.
De Bourcard devoted about twenty years, from 1847 to 1866, to the production of a voluminous work, The Uses and Customs of Naples, to which he engaged a large number of contributors, both writers, artists, and engravers.
The first of the two volumes was published in 1853. The books depict the customs of the time, the typical characters of the people, their daily lives, and a wide range of popular and religious festivals. Hundreds of lithographs are accompanied by explanatory texts.
Dru Drury was a British entomologist and collector.
Dru Drury was an avid collector and his entomological collection totals 11,000 specimens. Drury corresponded extensively with entomologists from all over the world, from India to Jamaica to America, and bought any insects for 60 cents from officers of merchant ships arriving from afar. He even supplied travelers with a pamphlet of collecting instructions. It was through this work that Drury amassed most of his collection. From 1770 to 1787 he published three volumes on entomology, Illustrations of Natural History, with over 240 drawings of exotic insects.
Drury was president of the Society of Entomologists of London from 1780 to 1782, and a member of the Linnaean Society.
Charles-Frederic Dubois was a Belgian naturalist, artist and author of books on birds and butterflies.
Based on the results of his study of birds and scales of Belgium, Academician Dubois wrote Planches colorées des oiseaux de l'Europe ("Colored Plates of Birds of Europe") and Catalog systématique des Lépidoptères de la Belgique ("Systematic Catalog of Scales of Belgium"), which after his death was completed by his son Alphonse Joseph Charles Dubois (1839-1921).
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics. Relativity and quantum mechanics are together the two pillars of modern physics. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from relativity theory, has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation". His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. His intellectual achievements and originality resulted in "Einstein" becoming synonymous with "genius".
Admiral Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans was a Royal Navy officer and Antarctic explorer.
Evans was seconded from the Navy to the Discovery expedition to Antarctica in 1901-1904, when he served on the crew of the relief ship, and afterwards began planning his own Antarctic expedition. However, he suspended this plan when offered the post of second-in-command on Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole in 1910-1913, as captain of the expedition ship Terra Nova. He accompanied Scott to within 150 miles of the Pole, but was sent back in command of the last supporting party. On the return he became seriously ill with scurvy and only narrowly survived.
Michael Faraday was a British physicist and chemist, explorer and experimenter.
Faraday, because of his family's poverty, was unable to receive a formal education, but at the bookbinding shop in London where he worked, he read many books, including encyclopedias and textbooks on chemistry and physics. He persevered in self-education, attending hearings at the City Philosophical Society and later lectures by Sir Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution, who as a result took the able student on as an apprentice. In 1825 he replaced the seriously ill Davy in the management of the laboratory of the Royal Institution.
In 1833 Faraday was appointed to a research chair of chemistry created especially for him, where, among other achievements, the scientist liquefied various gases, including chlorine and carbon dioxide. His study of heating and lighting oils led to the discovery of benzene and other hydrocarbons, and he experimented extensively with various steel alloys and optical glasses. Faraday was an excellent experimentalist who presented his ideas in simple language. He is best known for his contributions to the understanding of electricity and electrochemistry. The concepts behind electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and electrolysis were some of his most important discoveries. His electromagnetic research formed the basis of the electromagnetic equations that James Clerk Maxwell developed in the 1850s and 1860s.
Between 1831 and 1855, Faraday read a series of 30 papers before the Royal Society, which were published in his three-volume Experimental Investigations in Electricity. His bibliography numbers some 500 printed articles. By 1844 he had been elected a member of some 70 scientific societies, including the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Sir John Forrest was an Australian naturalist, traveler and politician.
He worked as a surveyor and led several exploratory pioneering expeditions to western Australia. On his second voyage in 1870-1871, Forrest made an instrumental survey of the entire southwest coast of Australia from Perth to Adelaide. He later served as Australia's Minister for Defense, and as the first Premier of Western Australia (1890-1901), Forrest sponsored the construction of public works and negotiated the state's entry into the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
Joseph Fourier, full name Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier, was a French mathematician and physicist and historical Egyptologist.
Fourier famously accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte on his Egyptian expedition in 1798 as a scientific advisor and was appointed secretary of the Institute of Egypt. During the occupation of Egypt, Fourier worked in the French administration, supervised archaeological excavations, and worked to shape the educational system.
But the main thing in Fourier's life was science. Back in France, he studied the mathematical theory of heat conduction, established the partial differential equation governing heat diffusion, and solved it using an infinite series of trigonometric functions. Fourier showed that heat diffusion obeyed simple observable physical constants that could be expressed mathematically. His work The Analytic Theory of Heat (1822) had a great influence on the development of physics and pure mathematics.
Joseph Fourier was a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, the French Academy, a foreign honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, and a member of the Royal Society of London.
igmund Freud, born Sigismund Schlomo Freud, was an Austrian psychologist, psychiatrist and neurologist, the founder of psychoanalysis.
He graduated from the medical faculty of the University of Vienna, was engaged in self-education and numerous, cutting-edge for his time studies of the human psyche. The resulting psychoanalysis he created was both a theory of the human psyche, a therapy to alleviate its ills, and a tool for interpreting culture and society. Freud's psychoanalysis had a significant impact on psychology, medicine, sociology, anthropology, literature and art in the twentieth century.
Despite the sometimes harsh criticism of virtually all of his ideas and teachings, which continues almost a century after his death, Freud remains one of the most influential intellectual figures of our time.
Christian Friedrich Freyer was a German entomologist.
According to contemporaries, Freyer was a venturesome and tireless collector of scales. He studied and first described 245 species of butterflies, including 193 species of nocturnal moths and 52 species of day butterflies. Freyer's importance as a field entomologist becomes evident from his work Die Falter um Augsburg ("Butterflies in the vicinity of Augsburg"). In it he lists 1,091 species. Freyer also created an international network between renowned European entomologists and involved them in his work.
Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar (Russian: И́горь Эммануи́лович Граба́рь) was a distinguished Russian painter, art historian, and museum administrator, whose contributions have left an indelible mark on the world of art. Renowned for his versatility, Grabar was not only a masterful artist but also a visionary in art preservation and education. His work reflects a deep appreciation for Russia's cultural heritage, capturing the essence of its landscapes, historical moments, and architectural beauty with a unique blend of realism and impressionism.
Grabar's significance extends beyond his paintings; he played a pivotal role in the preservation of Russian art, overseeing restoration projects and establishing guidelines that are still in use today. His efforts in cataloging and promoting Russian art helped to elevate the profile of Russian culture on the global stage. Among his well-known works, "February Azure" stands out for its captivating use of color and light, showcasing Grabar's skill in conveying the beauty of Russian winters.
As an educator and museum director, Grabar influenced generations of artists and art historians, embedding a deep respect for artistic heritage and innovation. His leadership at the Tretyakov Gallery and involvement in various art schools helped to shape the direction of Russian art in the 20th century. Grabar's legacy is not just in his artworks but also in his contributions to art education and museum practices, making him a revered figure among collectors, experts, and enthusiasts of art and antiques.
For those passionate about the rich tapestry of Russian art and culture, Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar's work remains a source of inspiration and admiration. We invite collectors and art experts to sign up for updates on new product sales and auction events related to Grabar's work. This subscription is your gateway to the world of a visionary artist whose influence continues to resonate in the art world.
George Robert Gray was a British zoologist.
Gray practiced ornithology and scales, and for forty years headed the ornithology department of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London. Gray's major work on ornithology is entitled Genera of Birds (1844-1849), and is decorated with illustrations by David William Mitchell and Joseph Wolf. Gray also described many species of scales, and in 1833 became a founding member of the Royal Entomological Society of London.
Johann Gottfried Gruber was a German critic and literary historian.
A graduate of the University of Leipzig, Gruber was later appointed professor at the University of Wittenberg, and in 1815 he became professor of philosophy at Halle. Gruber is the author of numerous historical and philosophical works.
Adrian Hardy Haworth was a British scientist of entomology, botany and carcinology, and a Fellow of the Linnean Society.
Haworth made significant contributions to botany and entomology, describing many species of plants and insects. He summarized and published the results of his entomological collections in the extensive Lepidoptera Britannica (1803-1828), which was the first major monograph on the scales of Britain and one of the most authoritative works of the 19th century. Haworth was also a carcinologist and specialized in shrimps.
Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was a German physicist and inventor of radio waves.
Hertz graduated from the University of Berlin, studying under Hermann von Helmholtz and Gustav Kirchhoff, then was a professor of physics at the University of Karlsruhe, and from 1889 became a professor of physics at the University of Bonn.
A tireless experimenter, Hertz conducted various experiments with electric waves. Hertz reported his first discovery at the end of 1887 in a treatise "On the electromagnetic effects caused by electrical perturbations in insulators," which he sent to the Berlin Academy. For a time the waves he discovered were called Hertzian waves, but today they are known as radio waves. Hertz's discovery was a confirmation of James Clerk Maxwell's electromagnetic theory and paved the way for numerous advances in communication technology.
Hertz is also known for the discovery of the photoelectric effect, which occurred during his research on electromagnetic waves. Hertz was only 37 years old at the time of his death and many of his experiments and work remained unfinished, but his discovery of radio waves had a huge impact on the world in the 20th century, paving the way for the development of radio, television and radar.
Eugene Jacquet, full name Eugene Vincent Stanislas Jacquet, was a Belgian orientalist and linguist.
From a young age, Eugene Jacquet tried to learn as many Oriental languages as possible, including Chinese, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian and Turkish, as well as Malay and Indian. At first he was interested in sinology, but in the end he was mainly concerned with Indology. Eugène Jacquet was very talented and was also interested in epigraphy, numismatics and paleography.
Jacquet corresponded extensively with Orientalist scholars in Europe and India (e.g., Prinsep) and had grand plans for his future, but unfortunately he died at the age of only 27 from tuberculosis. Perhaps his most significant achievement was his participation in the decipherment of the ancient Persian cuneiform script.
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist, professor, and the founder of analytical psychology.
He studied at the University of Zurich and conducted many studies in scientific psychology and psychiatry. From 1907 to 1912, Jung was a close associate of Sigmund Freud, but later they had serious disagreements and parted ways.
Carl Jung proposed and developed the concepts of extraverted and introverted personality, archetypes and the collective unconscious. He introduced the term "collective unconscious" as a part of the mind containing memories and impulses of which the individual is unaware, common to humanity as a whole and deriving from inherited brain structure. It differs from the personal unconscious, which arises from the experience of the individual. According to Jung, the collective unconscious contains archetypes, or universal primordial images and ideas.
Historical research helped Jung pioneer psychotherapy for middle-aged and elderly people, especially those who felt their lives had lost meaning. He helped them appreciate the place of their lives in the sequence of history. Jung devoted many years of his life to developing his ideas, especially those concerning the relationship between psychology and religion. His work had a significant impact on psychiatry and the study of religion, literature, and related fields.
Heinrich Kiepert, full name Johann Samuel Heinrich Kiepert, was a German geographer and cartographer.
Kiepert is considered one of the most important map scholars of the second half of the 19th century. Educated at the University of Berlin, Kiepert worked with Karl Ritter (1779-1859). Together they produced one of the first modern atlases of the ancient Greek world, the Topographical-Historical Atlas of Hellas and the Hellenic Colonies in 24 sheets (1840-1846). He traveled to Asia Minor and produced two maps of the region in 1844.
Heinrich Kiepert also taught geography at the Humboldt University-Berlin for 40 years and was a member of the Prussian and Austrian Academies of Sciences.
James Clerk Maxwell was a British physicist, mathematician and mechanic, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London.
James Clerk Maxwell was one of the most influential scientists of the nineteenth century. His theoretical work on electromagnetism and light largely determined the direction physics would take in the early 20th century. Maxwell conducted research in a number of areas, but was particularly preoccupied with the nature of Saturn's rings. In 1860 he obtained a professorship at King's College, London, and it was his years there that were most fruitful. For his electromagnetic theory,
Maxwell is most often credited with fundamentally changing the course of physics. Maxwell saw electricity not just as another branch of physics, but "as an aid to the interpretation of nature." He showed the importance of electricity to physics as a whole by advancing "the important hypothesis that light and electricity are the same in their ultimate nature." This theory, one of the most important discoveries in nineteenth-century physics, was Maxwell's greatest achievement and laid the foundation for Einstein's theory of relativity.
Peter Simon Pállas was a German and Russian scientist-encyclopedist, naturalist and traveler, who gave almost all his life to the service of Russia.
The breadth of his scientific interests made him a true encyclopedist, but he was particularly interested in natural sciences. By the age of 25, Pallas had already acquired European fame as a major scientist-naturalist. At the same time he received an invitation from the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, where he was offered a professorship. In 1767, Pallas arrived in St. Petersburg with his wife and soon led several important expeditions to Siberia and southern Russia. In his numerous ethnographic descriptions, the scientist was the first to report in detail on the Kalmyks, Tatars, Mordvins, Chuvashs, Nagaians, Tungus (Evenks), Votyaks (Udmurts), and Cheremis (Mari). In addition, he brought with him large natural-scientific collections. Later he traveled with scientific expeditions to Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands, Crimea and other previously unexplored lands.
In 1785 Catherine II attracted Pallas to the collection and comparative analysis of the languages of the peoples inhabiting America, Asia, Europe and Russia, and he compiled and published a comparative dictionary in two parts (1787-1789), in which more than 200 languages and dialects of the peoples of Asia and Europe were presented. In the last years of his life, among other things, Pallas was engaged in the preparation of a fundamental three-volume work on the fauna of Russia, Zoographia rosso-asiatica ("Russian-Asiatic Zoology"), in which more than 900 species of vertebrates, including 151 species of mammals, of which about 50 new species were introduced. This work was so extensive, and the descriptions of the animals were so thorough and detailed, that until the early 20th century the book remained the main source of knowledge about the fauna of Russia. In 1810. Peter Pallas went to Berlin to prepare illustrations for this work, but a year later the famous scientist died and was buried in Berlin.
A volcano in the Kuril Islands, a reef off New Guinea, and many animals and plants are named after Pallas.
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and the founder of microbiology and vaccination.
Pasteur received a bachelor of arts and sciences from the Royal College of Besançon and a doctorate from the École Normale in Paris, then spent several years as a researcher and teacher at the Lycée de Dijon. In 1848 he became professor of chemistry at the University of Strasbourg, and in the following year began to study the nature of wine fermentation, which began his revolutionary journey of most important scientific discoveries.
He invented a way to kill bacteria by boiling and then cooling the liquid, a process known today as pasteurization. Pasteur discovered the first vaccine in 1879 when he was exposed to a disease called chicken cholera. By accidentally exposing chickens to a weakened form of the culture, he demonstrated that they became resistant to the actual virus. Pasteur subsequently expanded his theory of germs and developed causes and vaccines against anthrax, cholera, tuberculosis, and smallpox, and the success of Pasteur's rabies vaccine in 1885 brought him worldwide fame.
Louis Pasteur's contribution to science, technology and medicine cannot be overemphasized. He pioneered the study of molecular asymmetry; discovered that microorganisms cause fermentation and disease; invented the process of pasteurization; saved the brewing, wine and silk industries in France; developed vaccines against the dreaded diseases anthrax and rabies, which saved millions of lives.
In 1873, Pasteur was elected an associate member of the Academy of Medicine, in 1882 - a member of the French Academy, and in 1888 in Paris was opened the Pasteur Institute. He was also awarded France's highest honor, the Legion of Honor.
Francis Gladheim Pease was an American astronomer and optical instrument maker.
Pease graduated from the Armor Institute of Technology in Chicago, worked as an optician and observer at Yerkes Observatory, and from 1904 also made optical instruments at Mount Wilson Observatory, where he worked for 34 years. Pease designed a 100-inch telescope as well as a 50-foot interferometric telescope, with which he made direct measurements of the diameters of stars. He also participated in the development of the Hale telescope.
In 1928 he found the first planetary nebula in a globular cluster (M15), now cataloged as Pease. Francis Gladheim Pease also took very high quality photographs of the surface of the Moon, and a crater on this Earth satellite is named in his honor.
Kuzma Sergeyevich Petrov-Vodkin (Russian: Кузьма Сергеевич Петров-Водкин), a Russian painter, synthesized various traditions of global art, crafting a unique and deeply personal visual language. Born in 1878 in Khvalynsk, Saratov oblast, Russian Empire, Petrov-Vodkin is celebrated for his innovative approach to perspective, color, and composition, which positioned him as a pivotal figure in the art world of his time. He passed away in 1939 in Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg, Russia.
Petrov-Vodkin's education in the arts took him from the Baron Stieglits School in Saint Petersburg to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, where he was mentored by notable artists such as Valentin Serov. His studies abroad, including in Munich under Anton Ažbe, further enriched his artistic development. Notably, his marriage to Maria Jovanovic in Paris in 1906 marked a significant personal chapter, providing him with a lifelong companion and collaborator.
His work is distinguished by the use of "spherical perspective," a technique that distorts the drawing to emphasize the globe's curvature, making the viewer feel simultaneously distant and intimately close to the subject. This method, influenced by Byzantine iconography's inverted perspective, is evident in works like "Death of a Commissar" and "In the Line of Fire." Petrov-Vodkin's palette darkened over time, and his subjects diversified to include still life and portraiture, reflecting a broader exploration of theme and form. Despite facing health challenges, including pulmonary tuberculosis which limited his painting in later years, he remained prolific in other creative avenues, including literature, where his semi-autobiographical works are held in high regard.
His legacy is enshrined in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, which houses the largest collection of his works and dedicates a room to his art in their permanent exhibition. Additionally, a memorial museum in his hometown of Khvalynsk pays tribute to his contributions to Russian and Soviet art.
For collectors and art and antiques experts intrigued by Petrov-Vodkin's profound impact on Russian art, signing up for updates can ensure access to the latest sales and auction events related to his oeuvre. This subscription is a gateway to exploring the depth and breadth of Petrov-Vodkin's artistic achievements and ensuring enthusiasts are well-informed of opportunities to engage with his work.
Giuseppe Piazzi was an Italian astronomer, mathematician and priest.
Around 1764 Piazzi became a Theatine priest, in 1779 he was appointed professor of theology in Rome, and in 1780 - professor of higher mathematics at the Academy of Palermo. Later, with the assistance of the Viceroy of Sicily, he founded an observatory in Palermo. There he compiled his great catalog of the positions of 7,646 stars and showed that most stars move relative to the Sun. There, on January 1, 1801, Piazzi also discovered the asteroid Ceres.
Giuseppe Piazzi's merits were appreciated: he was a member of the Royal Society of London, a foreign honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and a foreign member of the Paris Academy of Sciences. A crater on the Moon is named in his honor.
Max Planck, full name Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, is a German theoretical physicist and the founder of quantum theory, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
Planck made many discoveries in theoretical physics, but his quantum theory revolutionized our understanding of atomic and subatomic processes, just as Albert Einstein's theory of relativity revolutionized our understanding of space and time. Together they represent the fundamental theories of 20th-century physics. They forced humanity to reconsider some philosophical beliefs and began to be applied to industry, including the military, affecting all aspects of modern human life.
Planck was one of the first scientists to realize the importance of Einstein's special theory of relativity, and his influence played a crucial role in its acceptance in Germany. As dean of the University of Berlin, he personally visited Einstein in Zurich in 1913 to persuade him to move to Berlin, which became his base for the next 20 years. Einstein's 1905 work on the photoelectric effect (for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize) is based on Planck's constant (h), the fundamental unit of quantum theory.
Johann Baptist Emanuel Pohl was an Austrian and Czech scientist, botanist, naturalist, and traveler.
Pohl studied in Prague, earned a doctorate in medicine and practiced science, becoming one of the most prominent botanists in Bohemia. Consequently, he was invited on an expedition to Brazil. Johann Pohl arrived in Brazil in 1817 with the Italian botanist Giuseppe Raddi as part of a large scientific expedition sent by Francis I of Austria, and spent four years traveling through the states of Minas Gerais, Goias, Bahia, and Rio de Janeiro, including some 30 rivers in the country. He collected thousands of plant specimens, as well as studying minerals and zoology, exploring gold and diamond mines, caves, and villages of local people.
After his return to Europe, Pohl served as curator of the Vienna Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Brazil in Vienna until his death. His extensive collections, including some 4,000 plant specimens, were housed here along with the expedition's other scientific collections.
Paul Regnard, full name Paul Marie Léon Regnard, was a French physician, physiologist and photographer, and teacher.
He became a trainee at the hospital in 1874 and received his MD degree in 1878. Paul Regnard was deputy director of the Hautes Etudes Laboratories, and from 1878 taught general physiology at the newly founded National Agronomic Institute and later became its director (1902). He was also from 1895 a member of the Academy of Medicine in the section of biological sciences.
Regnard was one of the first practitioners of medical photography, particularly photographs of the mentally ill. Together with Désiré-Magloire Borneville, he directed the photographic service at the Salpêtrière Hospital of Paris, established by the psychiatrist J.C. Charcot (1825-1893). Numerous photographs were published in the book Iconographie Photographyique de la Salpêtrière. Regnard was a tireless researcher. He was one of the first naturalists to study the effects of atmospheric pressure on microbial metabolism. The scientist made a detailed historical and bibliographical survey of descriptions of possession and witchcraft through the ages, focusing on well-documented cases.
Regnar was particularly interested in the physical manifestations described by contemporaries: fainting spells, tetany, paresthesias, signs that could only be interpreted as diabolical or at least miraculous. All these signs Regnard had already observed, photographed, and treated at the Salpêtrière Hospital in the department of J.M. Charcot, to whom he dedicated this work, and so it was from the perspective of nascent psychiatry that Regnard analyzed these historical cases.
For his services, Regnard was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1884, then an officer in 1900.
Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich (Russian: Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих) was a distinguished Russian artist, writer, archaeologist, and philosopher, renowned for his profound contributions to culture and art. His multifaceted career spanned various disciplines, but it was his exceptional talent in painting that immortalized his name among the greats. Roerich's art is celebrated for its mystical and symbolic themes, often drawing inspiration from Russian folklore, religion, and his own spiritual quests. His dedication to cultural preservation and peace through art led to the establishment of the Roerich Pact, a treaty advocating for the protection of cultural heritage.
Roerich's paintings are characterized by vibrant colors and intricate details, capturing the ethereal beauty of landscapes and mythical scenes. His works, such as "Madonna Laboris" and the series "Sancta," are revered for their spiritual depth and artistic excellence. These masterpieces can be found in prestigious museums and galleries worldwide, serving as testaments to Roerich's enduring legacy in the art world. His commitment to integrating spiritual and cultural dimensions in his art has made him a seminal figure for collectors and experts in art and antiques.
Roerich's influence extends beyond his paintings; his philosophical writings and cultural initiatives have also left a significant mark on the fields of art and heritage preservation. As enthusiasts of art and antiquities continue to explore Roerich's rich legacy, there is a growing appreciation for his vision of unity and harmony through cultural expression. For those captivated by Roerich's remarkable life and works, signing up for updates is an invaluable opportunity to stay informed about new product sales and auction events dedicated to his art. This subscription is a gateway to exclusive insights and offerings that celebrate the legacy of Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich, ensuring enthusiasts remain connected to the evolving exploration of his profound contributions.
Michele Rosa was an Italian chemist and professor.
Rosa graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Bologna, then practiced in Venice and Rome. In 1766 he published An Essay on Clinical Observations, a pioneering work that brought him fame and earned him a professorship at the University of Pavia. In 1782 Rosa was appointed professor of practical medicine and president of the medical faculty of the new University of Modena. At Este he was elected president of the medical college and was in charge of sanitation.
In 1783 he published Letters on some physiological curiosities. In addition to physiology, epidemiology and public hygiene, Michele Rosa wrote works on natural science, antiquarianism and dietetics. Among these are the memoirs On Pores and Substances in Antiquity (1786) and On Gianda and Quercia (1801). In 1796 Rosa returned to Rimini, where he continued to teach and held some public offices.
Theodor Schwann was a German cytologist, histologist and physiologist, author of the cell theory.
Schwann's most significant contribution to biology is considered to be the extension of cell theory to animals. Schwann extended Schleiden's theory of the cell as the basic unit of the plant world to animals. In 1839 Schwann published his seminal work on the general theory of the cell as the basis of life, Mikroskopische Untersuchungen ber die Uebereinstimmung in der Struktur und dem Wachsthum der Thiere und Pflanzen ("Microscopic Investigations on the correspondence in the structure and growth of animals and plants"). Schwann's theory can thus be regarded as the progenitor of the school of mechanistic materialism in biology.
Schwann also studied the formation of yeast spores and concluded that the fermentation of sugar and starch was the result of life processes. He also introduced the term metabolism to describe the chemical changes that occur in living tissues, defined the role of microorganisms in putrefaction, and formulated the basic principles of embryology, noting that an egg is a single cell that eventually develops into a complete organism.
Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov (Russian: Иван Михайлович Сеченов) was a Russian natural scientist, psychologist and physiologist, teacher and educator.
Ivan Mikhailovich was born into an impoverished noble family in the village of Teply Stan, Kurmysh uyezd, Simbirsk province (now the village of Sechenovo, Nizhny Novgorod region), graduated from the Main Military Engineering School, then from the Medical Faculty of Moscow University. For three and a half years Sechenov studied in Germany, engaged not only in biological disciplines, but also in physics and analytical chemistry. Abroad he became friends with S. P. Botkin, D. I. Mendeleev, A. P. Borodin, and the artist A. Ivanov.
In 1860 in St. Petersburg at the Imperial Academy of Medicine and Surgery Sechenov defended his dissertation on "Materials for the Physiology of Alcoholic Intoxication" and received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Soon he received the post of extraordinary professor at this academy and organized one of the first physiological laboratories in Russia in his department. His record includes work in the laboratory of D. I. Mendeleev, head of the Department of Physiology at Odessa Novorossiysk University, teaching at St. Petersburg University, and professor in the Department of Physiology at Moscow University. Sechenov gave much effort to the development of women's education. He participated in the organization and work of the Higher Women's Courses in the capital, taught at women's courses at the Society of Educators and Teachers in Moscow.
Ivan Sechenov is the founder of the doctrine of mental regulation of behavior, the creator of the first physiological scientific school in Russia. For the first time in history he substantiated the reflex nature of conscious and unconscious activity. He showed that the basis of mental phenomena is physiological processes, substantiated the importance of metabolic processes in the realization of the body's reactions to stimuli. He laid the foundations of physiology of labor, age, comparative and evolutionary physiology. He studied the respiratory function of blood.
Sechenov's main works: "Reflexes of the brain" (1863), "Physiology of the nervous system" (1866), "Elements of thought" (1878), "Sketch of human working movements" (1901), etc. In addition, Sechenov edited "The physiology of the nervous system" (1866). In addition, Sechenov edited translations of books by foreign scientists. Thus, in 1871-1872 under his editorship in Russia was published a translation of Charles Darwin's work "The Origin of Man and Sexual Selection". Among his students were Ilya Mechnikov, Ivan Pavlov, Kliment Timiryazev, Nikolai Vvedensky, and Ivan Tarkhanov, who became famous scientists.
Francesco Valentini, full name Francesco Cosma Damiano Valentini, was an Italian linguistic scholar, teacher and translator who worked in Germany.
Valentini held a doctorate and was the Royal Prussian Professor of Italian Language and Literature in Berlin. From 1831 to 1836, he published an Italian-German dictionary in four volumes in Leipzig.
One day Valentini was invited to give a lecture on the theater and carnival masks of his native Rome. The lecture was such a success that it was later published in 1826 by the Berlin art dealer and publisher Wittich, who illustrated it with charming color engravings based on drawings by the Berlin artist Johann Heinrich Stürmer. The book was published in German and Italian.
Hermann van Hall or Hermannus Christian van Hall was a Dutch botanist and agrarian, the founder of higher agricultural education.
In 1825, van Hall was appointed professor of botany and land economics at the University of Groningen. He was responsible for a collection of demonstration models, an economic garden and a farm where profitable cash crops were grown. In 1842, he took the initiative to establish the Graduate School of Land Economics in Groningen. The Dutch institute of applied sciences was subsequently named in his honor - Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, often abbreviated VHL.
Etienne-Pierre Ventenat was a French botanist, mycologist and writer.
Etienne-Pierre Ventenat was one of the greatest botanists in France. Empress Josephine Bonaparte hired him to describe and catalog rare plants at her castle of Malmaison. Josephine enlisted eminent botanists such as Claes and Blaikie to collect plants on a grand scale. Ventenat was commissioned to write the text of the work on the Malmaison collection, and the illustrations were created by the talented artist Pierre-Joseph Redoute, nicknamed the "Raphael of Flowers." As a result, a sumptuous book entitled Jardin de la Malmaison (The Garden of Malmaison) was published in 1803.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German polymath and writer, is celebrated as one of the most influential figures in the German language and Western culture. His vast array of works spans poetry, novels, plays, and scientific writings, reflecting his diverse interests and profound impact on various fields.
Goethe's early life in Frankfurt laid the foundation for his diverse interests. After studying law, he gained fame with "The Sorrows of Young Werther," which led to an invitation to the Weimar court. His contributions there were significant, including roles in the ducal council, mining supervision, and cultural endeavors like theater management and the botanical park's planning.
His literary achievements are vast, with notable works like "Faust" and "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship," which delve into human nature and societal reflections. Goethe's "Sturm und Drang" period was marked by intense emotion and a break from traditional forms, influencing subsequent cultural movements.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's interest in science is equally noteworthy. He made contributions to biology, zoology, and color theory, advocating for a holistic view of nature and expressing skepticism toward restrictive scientific methodologies. His works in these areas reflect a deep desire to understand and articulate the natural world's interconnectedness.
For art collectors and experts, Goethe's influence extends beyond his literary and scientific contributions. His role in Weimar Classicism and his artistic endeavors offer rich insights into the period's cultural landscape, providing a multifaceted perspective on his legacy.
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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.
Franz Xaver Freiherr (from 1801) von Zach, Baron (Hungarian: Zách János Ferenc) was an Austro-German astronomer, surveyor, mathematician, science historian and officer of Hungarian origin. He rendered outstanding services in the exploration of the solar system and the organization of international astronomy, after whom a lunar crater (Zach) and an asteroid ((999) Zachia) were named, among others. He was also the founder of the first scientific journals and organised the first astronomical congress in 1798.
John Obadiah Westwood was a British entomologist and archaeologist, artist, and a Fellow of the Linnean Society.
John Westwood was the first Hope Professor at Oxford University, where he held the Chair of Invertebrate Zoology. He made a significant contribution to Australian entomology and wrote a large number of papers between 1835 and 1864.
Westwood was a good illustrator and published several illustrated works on insects and antiquities. He did not travel himself, but described insect species from around the world based on specimens, especially large, outlandish, and colorful ones obtained by naturalists and collectors in England. In 1855 the scientist was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society of London.
Konstantin Fyodorovich Yuon (Russian: Константи́н Фёдорович Юо́н) was a distinguished Russian artist and painter, celebrated for his multifaceted contributions to the world of art. Born in Moscow, Yuon's work spans painting, stage design, and teaching, making significant impacts across these fields. His artistry is renowned for blending traditional Russian motifs with innovative techniques, illustrating the rich tapestry of Russian culture and history.
Yuon's masterpieces are characterized by their vibrant use of color and light, capturing the essence of Russian landscapes and urban scenes with a unique lyrical quality. His notable works, such as "New Planet" and "The March Sun," showcase his ability to transcend the ordinary, offering viewers a glimpse into the ethereal beauty of everyday life. These pieces not only highlight his technical prowess but also his profound understanding of the emotional and cultural significance of his subjects.
Throughout his career, Yuon's influence extended beyond the canvas, as he nurtured the next generation of artists through his teaching. His dedication to the arts was recognized with prestigious awards, affirming his status as a pillar of the Russian art community. Today, his works are preserved in major museums and galleries, serving as a testament to his enduring legacy in the fields of painting and cultural heritage.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, the legacy of Konstantin Fyodorovich Yuon offers a fascinating exploration into the evolution of Russian art. His works not only represent significant artistic achievements but also embody the cultural and historical narratives of their time. To stay informed on new product sales and auction events featuring Yuon's work, we invite you to sign up for updates. This subscription will ensure you're always in the loop on opportunities to own a piece of Russian art history.
