Charles Konig facts for kids
Charles Dietrich Eberhard Konig, also known as Karl Dietrich Eberhard König, was an important German naturalist. A naturalist is a scientist who studies nature, including plants, animals, and rocks. He spent most of his life working in England, where he became a key figure at the famous British Museum.
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A Career in Natural History
Charles Konig was born in Brunswick, Germany, in 1774. He studied at the University of Göttingen before moving to England in late 1800. His first big job in England was to help organize the amazing collections of Queen Charlotte.
After finishing this work, he became an assistant to Jonas Carlsson Dryander. Dryander was the librarian for Joseph Banks, a very famous scientist and explorer. In 1807, Charles Konig took over from George Shaw as the assistant keeper in the natural history department at the British Museum. When his boss passed away in 1813, Konig became the keeper of the department.
Focus on Minerals and Fossils
Later in his career, Charles Konig became the keeper of geology and mineralogy. This meant he focused on studying minerals and fossils. He worked on organizing a large collection of minerals and fossils that the museum had recently bought from Mr. Greville. He kept this important job until he passed away suddenly in London in 1851.
Name Change and Museum Changes
When Charles Konig became an assistant keeper in 1807, he changed his name to an English version. This was a common practice at the time. In 1837, a special review of the British Museum took place. After this review, the Department of Natural History was split into three different sections. Konig was put in charge of the Mineralogical and Geological section.
Important Works
Besides writing many articles for scientific journals, Charles Konig also worked with John Sims. They published a science magazine called Annals of Botany from 1805 to 1807. Konig also wrote a very important book about fossils found at the British Museum. This classic work was called Icones fossilium sectiles and was published between 1820 and 1825.
