Johann Heinrich von Heucher facts for kids
Johann Heinrich von Heucher was a smart German doctor and plant expert. He was born on January 1, 1677, and passed away on February 23, 1747. Before he became famous and got a special title (called ennoblement), his name was just Johann Heinrich Heucher.
Contents
Johann Heinrich von Heucher's Life Story
Early Life and Education
Johann Heinrich von Heucher was born in Vienna. When he was twelve, his family moved to Wittenberg. He first studied philosophy, which is about big ideas and how we think. Later, he studied medicine.
He went to several universities to learn, including Wittenberg, Leipzig, and Jena. He worked very hard to become a doctor.
A Doctor and Professor
In the year 1700, Johann Heinrich became a Doctor of Medicine. He started working as a doctor right away. For some time, he also taught philosophy at the University of Wittenberg.
In 1709, he became a professor of medicine at the same university. This job was special because it also included teaching about plants. This was important for making medicines.
He helped start the Wittenberg Botanical Garden. This was a place where different plants were grown for study. The first list of plants in the garden was made in 1711. He also collected many medical items for study. He even helped fix up the anatomical theatre in Wittenberg. This was a place where students could learn about the human body.
Working for the King
In 1713, Johann Heinrich became the personal doctor for Augustus II the Strong. Augustus was the King of Poland and an important ruler in Saxony. Because of this, Johann Heinrich moved to Dresden.
His biggest job became organizing the king's huge collections. The king had an old Kunstkammer, which was like a room filled with all sorts of natural objects and art. Johann Heinrich turned these into special collections. They were moved to a new building and then to the famous Zwinger palace in 1728.
He worked as the main director for these scientific collections until he died in 1747. He also helped organize the king's collection of prints. These prints were separated from the paintings and also shown at the Zwinger.
His Legacy
In 1729, Johann Heinrich von Heucher was invited to join the Royal Society. This was a very important group of scientists in England. Around this time, the Emperor also gave him a special title, making him "von Heucher."
A year before he passed away, in 1746, he sold his own library. It had about 4,000 books, many of them valuable science texts. These books went to the royal library. He also wrote important books about anatomy (the study of the body), botany (the study of plants), and mineralogy (the study of minerals).
How He Was Honored
A famous plant scientist named Carl Linnaeus honored Johann Heinrich von Heucher. Linnaeus named a whole group of plants, called a genus, after him. This genus is called Heuchera. These plants belong to the Saxifragaceae family.
