A medical degree from the University of Tübingen was awarded to 18-year-old Johann Georg Gmelin in 1727, following a period of attendance at lectures that began when he was only 14. His career spanned chemistry, botany, and geography, bridging the intellectual environments of the Duchy of Württemberg and the Russian Empire during the mid-eighteenth century.
Early Academic Career
Born in 1709, Gmelin followed in his father's footsteps at the University of Tübingen. By 1728, he moved to Saint Petersburg, securing a fellowship at the Russian Academy of Sciences. He began lecturing in 1730 and attained the rank of professor of chemistry and natural history the following year. During this period, he edited the final two volumes of Johann Christian Buxbaum's work, Centuria, following Buxbaum's death in 1730.
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In August 1733, Gmelin departed Saint Petersburg as one of three professors selected for the Second Kamchatka Expedition. Accompanied by student Stepan Krasheninnikov, he traversed the Ural Mountains and western Siberia. His research established the Yenisey River as a geographical boundary between Europe and Asia. He calculated the low temperature in Yeniseysk and provided evidence that the Caspian Sea level sat below that of the Mediterranean. Despite losing his collections and notes to a fire in Yakutsk in November 1736, he spent the subsequent summer rebuilding his specimen research.
Scientific Publications and Legacy
Gmelin's extensive observations provided the basis for Flora Sibirica, published between 1747 and 1769. The work documented 1,178 species, including 294 illustrations, with contributions from his nephew Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin. His four-volume Reise durch Sibirien von dem Jahr 1733 bis 1743 appeared in 1751 and 1752. Returning to the University of Tübingen in 1747, he served as a professor of medicine and became director of the botanic garden in 1751, eventually holding the position of Rector from 1752 to 1753.
Fast facts
- Born: 1709, Tübingen
- Died: 1755, Tübingen
- Education: University of Tübingen
- Key Publication: Flora Sibirica (1747–1769)
- Positions: Rector of the University of Tübingen (1752-1753)
- Expedition: Second Kamchatka Expedition (1733–1743)
- Memberships: Russian Academy of Sciences, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Questions readers ask
Why was Gmelin's travelogue never translated into Russian?
The text was excluded from Russian translation because it contained uncomplimentary observations and comments regarding the Russian people.
What is the genus Gmelina?
Gmelina is a plant genus in the Lamiaceae family named in honor of Gmelin, though it is possible some species were named for Johann Friedrich Gmelin.
Achievements
- Held posts at Russian Academy of Sciences and University of Tübingen
- Educated at University of Tübingen
- Fields of research: botany, chemistry, ethnography and medicine
