Johann Friedrich Naumann

Johann Friedrich Naumann
Prof. Dr. Johann Friedrich Naumann
Born	(1780-02-14)14 February 1780
Died	15 August 1857(1857-08-15) (aged 77)
Resting place	Prosigk 51°42′N12°3′E / 51.700°N 12.050°E / 51.700; 12.050
Occupation	Ornithologist

Johann Friedrich Naumann (14 February 1780 – 15 August 1857) was a German scientist, artist, engraver, and editor. He is regarded as the founder of scientific ornithology in Europe. Along with his father he published The Natural History of German Birds (1820–1844) and The Eggs of German Birds (1818–1828). His father Johann Andreas Naumann (1744–1826) was a naturalist, and his brother Carl Andreas Naumann (1786–1854) was also an ornithologist who became a forester. The German ornithological society named its journal Naumannia.

Biography

Johann Friedrich Naumann was born in Ziebigk, about 10 km southeast of Köthen, on 14 February 1780, the son of Johann Andreas Naumann, a well-known naturalist. The family owned an agricultural estate at Ziebigk since 1639. Naumann's grandfather had set up aviaries on the land and his father shot, caught and studied birds. After attending the princely school at Dessau from 1790 to 1794, he returned home and devoted himself to the study of agriculture, botany, geology, and ornithology. Naumann joined the Halle Natural History Society in 1803. His later work was devoted more exclusively to the ornithology of Germany. In 1822, he published his Naturgeschichte der Vögel Deutschlands (13 vols, Leipzig, 1822), illustrated with plates Naumann engraved himself based on drawings by Friedrich Osterloh of Halle. After noting that they were not of good quality, he began to acquire skills and improve his own drawing skills. The colouring of the copperplate engravings was done by others who were provided printed instructions. ^[1] Although the early volumes were written by his father, the later ones (from the third volume) were greatly edited by the son. He was also the author of many other ornithological works. ^[2] The second edition of the book included an introduction to avian anatomy added by Christian Ludwig Nitzsch of Halle. Naumann also noted the calls of the birds and was aware of minute differences in the calls of birds. He pioneered the transcriptions of calls in his descriptions. He loved the classical musicians and had learned musical notation which he also incorporated in his descriptions. ^[3]

In 1821, Naumann sold his bird collection to Frederick Ferdinand, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen for 2,000 Taler. He was appointed curator of the ducal collection in the Ferdinandsbau in Schloss (Castle) Köthen, which has been accessible to the public since 1835.

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  From Naturgeschichte der Vögel Mitteleuropas (Natural History of the Birds of Central Europe).
• 
  Habicht (Accipiter gentilis). Engraving by Johann Friedrich Naumann.
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  Upland sandpiper Bartramie ou maubèche des champs by Naumann.
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  Falco eleonorae.
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  Self-portrait

References

1. Albus, Anita (2011). On Rare Birds. Greystone Books. p. 122. ISBN   978-1-55365-477-3.
2. Charles Anderson Dana, George Ripley (1861). The New American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge. New York: Appleto1. pp.  131.
3. Feldner, J.; Neumann, Joachim (2020). "Das erste „Handbuch" der Vögel Deutschlands". Bl. Naumann-Mus. 34: 3–53.

Sources

• Wilhelm Heß: ADB Vol. 23. Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1886, p. 315
• Paul Gottschalk: "Johann Friedrich Naumann" in Mitteldeutsche Lebensbilder, Vol. 1, Lebensbilder des 19. Jahrhunderts, Magdeburg 1926, pp. 65–70.

External links

• German Wikisource has original text related to this article: Johann Friedrich Naumann.
• Naumann Museum at Bachstadt-koethen.de
• Zoologica Göttingen State and University Library
• Taxidermie, oder, Die Lehre Thiere aller Klassen (1848)