Conrad von GesnerDied 13 Dec 1565 at age 49 (born 26 Mar 1516).Swiss physician, naturalist, and encyclopedist is best known for his monumental works. Gesner's aim was to survey all the world's recorded knowledge. His books included systematic compilations of information on animals and plants. Elaborately illustrated , Historiae animalium comprised five volumes, the first appearing in 1551, each covering a portion of the animal kingdom. Gesner's pictures made his works both more appealing and less ambiguous. Although he listed all the animals known in Europe, he had no idea of the relationships one animal to another. Yet, in Historica Plantarum (History of Plants), published two centuries after his death, he was the first to recognize that similar species could be grouped to form genera.Image: The first known illustration of a lead pencil is found in Gesner's book on fossils (1565). [Name sometimes spelled as 'Konrad'.] |
