Conrad Gessner

Conrad Gessner
Portrait by Tobias Stimmer, c. 1564
Born	26 March 1516 Zürich, Swiss Confederacy
Died	13 December 1565(1565-12-13) (aged 49) Zürich, Swiss Confederacy
Resting place	Grossmünster, Zürich
Education	Carolinum, Zürich
Alma mater	University of Basel, University of Montpellier
Known for	Bibliotheca universalis and Historia animalium
Scientific career
Fields	Botany, zoology and bibliography
Author abbrev. (botany)	Gesner[1]

Conrad Gessner (/ˈɡɛsnər/; Latin: Conradus Gesnerus^[a] 26 March 1516 – 13 December 1565) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his talents and supported him through university, where he studied classical languages, theology and medicine. He became Zürich's city physician, but was able to spend much of his time on collecting, research and writing. Gessner compiled monumental works on bibliography (Bibliotheca universalis 1545–1549) and zoology (Historia animalium 1551–1558) and was working on a major botanical text at the time of his death from plague at the age of 49. He is regarded as the father of modern scientific bibliography, zoology and botany. He was frequently the first to describe species of plants or animals in Europe, such as the tulip in 1559. A number of plants and animals have been named after him.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).