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Johann Friedrich Gmelin

Johann Friedrich Gmelin is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Johann Friedrich Gmelin rather than just read about it. In short: Johann Friedrich Gmelin (8 August 1748 – 1 November 1804) was a German naturalist, chemist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist, and malacologist. Education Johann Friedrich Gmelin was born as the eldest son of Philipp Friedrich Gmelin in 1748 in Tübingen.

Johann Friedrich Gmelin — main illustration
Johann Friedrich Gmelin — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Johann Friedrich Gmelin belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Johann Friedrich Gmelin to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Johann Friedrich Gmelin from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Johann Friedrich Gmelin (8 August 1748 – 1 November 1804) was a German naturalist, chemist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist, and malacologist.

Education Johann Friedrich Gmelin was born as the eldest son of Philipp Friedrich Gmelin in 1748 in Tübingen. He studied medicine under his father at University of Tübingen and graduated with a Master's degree in 1768, with a thesis entitled: Irritabilitatem vegetabilium, in singulis plantarum partibus exploratam ulterioribusque experimentis confirmatam, defended under the presidency of Ferdinand Christoph Oetinger, whom he thanks with the words Patrono et praeceptore in aeternum pie devenerando, pro summis in medicina obtinendis honoribus.

Career In 1769, Gmelin became an adjunct professor of medicine at University of Tübingen. In 1773, he became professor of philosophy and adjunct professor of medicine at University of Göttingen. He was promoted to full professor of medicine and professor of chemistry, botany, and mineralogy in 1778. He died in 1804 in Göttingen and is buried there in the Albani cemetery with his wife Rosine Louise Gmelin (1755–1828, née Schott). Johann Friedrich Gmelin when young became a respected colleague of Carl Linnaeus and collected plants in Persia on his behalf. Later in life he published several textbooks in the fields of chemistry, pharmaceutical science, mineralogy, and botany. He also edited and published the posthumous 13th edition of Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus from 1788 to 1793. This contained descriptions and scientific names of many new species, including birds that had earlier been catalogued without a scientific name by John Latham in his A General Synopsis of Birds. Gmelin's publication is cited as the authority for over 290 bird speciesand also a number of butterfly species.

Legacy Among his students were Georg Friedrich Hildebrandt, Carl Friedrich Kielmeyer, Friedrich Stromeyer, and Wilhelm August Lampadius. He was the father of Leopold Gmelin. He described the redfin pickerel in 1789. In the scientific field of herpetology, he described many new species of amphibians and reptiles. In the field of malacology, he described and named many species of gastropods. The plant genus Gmelina was named after J.F. Gmelin (or possibly J.G. Gmelin, or both) by Linnaeus.

The abbreviation "Gmel." is also found.

Publications Gmelin, Johann Friedrich; Ferdinand Christoph Oetinger (1768). Irritabilitatem vegetabilium, in singulis plantarum partibus exploratam ulterioribusque experimentis confirmatam. Thesis Tübingen. OCLC 10717434. Allgemeine Geschichte der Gifte, 2 Vol., 1776/77 Digital edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf. Allgemeine Geschichte der Pflanzengifte, 1777 Allgemeine Geschichte der mineralischen Gifte. Nürnberg: Raspe, 1777. Digital edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf. Johann Friedrich Gmelins ... Einleitung in die Chemie zum Gebrauch auf Universitäten. Nürnberg: Raspe, 1780. Digital edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf. Einleitung in die Pharmacie. Nürnberg: Raspe, 1781. Digital edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf. Beyträge zur Geschichte des teutschen Bergbaus, 1783 Über die neuere Entdeckungen in der Lehre von der Luft, und deren Anwendung auf Arzneikunst, in Briefen an einen Arzt, von J. F. Gmelin, 1784 Grundsätze der technischen Chemie, 1786 Caroli a Linné, equitis aurati de stella polari, … Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima tertia, aucta, reformata, Lipsiae [Leipzig], Georg Emanuel Beer, 1788–1793 Grundriß der Pharmazie, 1792 Apparatus Medicaminum tam simplicium quam praeparatorum et compositorum in Praxeos Adiumentum consideratus, Ps. 2, T. 1 – Ps. 2, T. 2., 1795–1796. Digital edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf. Geschichte der Chemie, 1799 Allgemeine Geschichte der thierischen und mineralischen Gifte, 1806

See also Category:Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin

References

External links

Gmelin's chemical genealogy Johann Friedrich Gmelin at the Mathematics Genealogy Project Johann Friedrich Gmelin in the German National Library catalogue Global Ant Project — World Ant Taxonomists: Johann Friedrich Gmelin (1748–1804) "Author Details for Johann Friedrich Gmelin" (HTML). International Plant Names Index. International Organization for Plant Information (IOPI). books by Johann Friedrich Gmelin at Internet Archive Zoologica Göttingen State and University Library

Illustrations

Johann Friedrich Gmelin illustration
Johann Friedrich Gmelin: Tomb in the Albani cemetery in Göttingen
Tomb in the Albani cemetery in Göttingen

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Johann Friedrich Gmelin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Johann Friedrich Gmelin claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Johann Friedrich Gmelin before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Johann Friedrich Gmelin ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Johann Friedrich Gmelin

In research
Johann Friedrich Gmelin appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Johann Friedrich Gmelin in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Johann Friedrich Gmelin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1748 births, 1804 deaths, 18th-century German botanists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Johann Friedrich Gmelin outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Johann Friedrich Gmelin means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Johann Friedrich Gmelin out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Johann Friedrich Gmelin in simple terms?

Johann Friedrich Gmelin (8 August 1748 – 1 November 1804) was a German naturalist, chemist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist, and malacologist. Education Johann Friedrich Gmelin was born as the eldest son of Philipp Friedrich Gmelin in 1748 in Tübingen.

Why does Johann Friedrich Gmelin matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Johann Friedrich Gmelin?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Johann Friedrich Gmelin.

Tags

  • 1748 births
  • 1804 deaths
  • 18th-century German botanists
  • 18th-century German naturalists
  • 18th-century German zoologists
  • 19th-century German zoologists
  • Conchologists
  • German bryologists
  • German entomologists
  • German mycologists
  • German ornithologists
  • German phycologists

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