Gaspard Bauhin and the Classification of Plants.
Gaspard Bauhin(1550 - 1624). On January 17 1560 Swiss botanist Gaspard Bauhin was born. He is best known for his contributions to the field of botany and especially for his classification of plants. He was a disciple of the famous Italian physician Girolamo Mercuriale and he also worked on human anatomical nomenclature. Gaspard Bauhin was probably born in Basel and he was the son of the French physician Jean Bauhin. Also the young Gaspard devoted his life to medicine and studied in Padua Montpellier and in several schools in Germany. He was admitted to the degree of a doctor in 1580 and gave private lectures in anatomy and botany when he returned to Basel. The young doctor was appointed to the professorship at the local university and became the professor of the chair of anatomy and botany in 1588. Bauhin was appointed city physician professor of the practice of medicine, rector of the university, and dean of his faculty. During his career, the scientist published several works in the field of botany. The most important and most influential work is presumably his 'Pinax Theatri Botanici, seu Index in Theophrasti, Dioscoridis, Plinii, et botanicorum qui a seculo scripserunt opera', published in 1596. The work is considered an early and widely celebrated attempt to name and catalog all known kinds of plants. The scientist managed to lit and describe about 6,000 species while introducing the practice of naming plants by their genus and species (a system that found wide application by the botanists John Ray and Linnaeus Bauhin also planned a 'Theatrum Botanicum' and it was meant to be comprised in twelve parts folio, of which he finished three. However, only one was published in 1658. In the field of anatomy, Bauhin' most notable work is considered 'Theatrum Anatomicum infinitis locis auctum', published in 1592. His son, Jean Gaspard Bauhin was professor of botany at Basel for thirty years. Gaspard Bauhin passed away in 1624. At yovisto, you can learn more about botany in the video lecture on ‘Human Livelihoods Depend on Wild Flowers: Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank explained‘.