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Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin

Samuel Gottlieb 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 Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin rather than just read about it. In short: Samuel George Gottlieb Gmelin (4 July 1744 – 27 July 1774) was a German physician, botanist, and explorer. Background Gmelin was born at Tübingen as part of a well-known family of naturalists.

Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin — main illustration
Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Samuel Gottlieb 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 Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Samuel George Gottlieb Gmelin (4 July 1744 – 27 July 1774) was a German physician, botanist, and explorer.

Background Gmelin was born at Tübingen as part of a well-known family of naturalists. His father was Johann Conrad Gmelin, an apothecary and surgeon. His uncle was Johann Georg Gmelin, who was also uncle to Johann Friedrich Gmelin (the naturalist publisher of the Systema Naturae of Carolus Linnaeus). Samuel earned his medical degree in 1763 from the University of Leiden at the young age of 18. While living in the Dutch Republic, Gmelin developed a keen interest in marine algae. In 1766 he was appointed professor of botany at St Petersburg. In the following year he was sent on an expedition to study the natural history of the Russian Empire. He explored the rivers Don and Volga, and the western and eastern coasts of the Caspian Sea. Whilst travelling in the Caucasus he was taken hostage by Usmey Khan of Khaïtakes and died of ill treatment in captivity in Akhmedkent, Dagestan. He was only 30 years of age. His death led to a Russian punitive expedition which briefly conquered Derbent. Gmelin was the author of Historia Fucorum (1768), the first work dedicated to marine biology dealing exclusively with algae and the first using the binomial system of nomenclature. It includes elaborate illustrations of seaweed and marine algae on folded leaves. However, algal specimens used by Gmelin in the Historia fucorum are thought to no longer exist (Dixon & Irvine, 1970). The results of his travels were published in Reise durch Russland zur untersuchung der drey natur-reiche ("Trip Through Russia To Study the Three Natural Provinces") (1770–1784, 4 vols.). The final volume was to be completed by Güldenstädt, but was ultimately edited by Peter Simon Pallas after Güldenstädt's death.

Biography In 1772, he married Anna von Chappuzeau, granddaughter of the famous naval captain Jacob Chappuzeau (Iakov Shapizo), hero of the battle of Osel Island in 1719, when he commanded the Raphail.

References

Illustrations

Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Samuel Gottlieb 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 Samuel Gottlieb 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 Samuel Gottlieb 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 Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin

In research
Samuel Gottlieb 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 Samuel Gottlieb 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
Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1744 births, 1774 deaths, 18th-century German botanists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Samuel Gottlieb 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 Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Samuel Gottlieb 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 Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin in simple terms?

Samuel George Gottlieb Gmelin (4 July 1744 – 27 July 1774) was a German physician, botanist, and explorer. Background Gmelin was born at Tübingen as part of a well-known family of naturalists.

Why does Samuel Gottlieb 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 Samuel Gottlieb 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 Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin.

Tags

  • 1744 births
  • 1774 deaths
  • 18th-century German botanists
  • 18th-century German medical doctors
  • Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences
  • German emigrants to the Russian Empire
  • German ornithologists
  • German phycologists
  • German pteridologists
  • Scientists from Tübingen

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