Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) was a German physician and naturalist who is best known for his contribution to ichthyology through his multi-volume catalog of plates illustrating the fishes of the world. Brought up in a Hebrew-speaking Jewish family, he learned German and Latin and studied anatomy before settling in Berlin as a physician. He amassed a large natural history collection, particularly of fish specimens. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologists of the 18th century, and wrote many papers on natural history, comparative anatomy, and physiology.
Bloch was born at Ansbach in 1723 where his father was a Torah writer and his mother owned a small shop. Educated at home in Hebrew literature he became a private tutor in Hamburg for a Jewish surgeon. Here he learned German, Latin and anatomy.[1] He then studied medicine in Berlin and received a doctorate in 1762 from Frankfort on the Oder with a treatise on skin disorders. He then became a general practitioner in Berlin and married Breinche, daughter of "protected Jew" Ruben Joseph Rintel (1699–1765?) in 1765. This allowed him to settle in Berlin. Bloch helped found the Society of Friends of Natural Sciences in 1773 along with Moses Mendelssohn[2] serving also as Mendelssohn's physician. He began to establish a large natural history collection and a library. He also began to publish in journals. Breinche died in 1769 and their only son died aged 21 while on a trip to Paris to sell the book on fishes that his father had written. In 1774 he married Cheile, daughter of banker Joseph Veitel Ephraim (1775–1807) and they would have a daughter who married physician Wolf Davidson (1772–1800). After the death of Cheile, he married Rahel, daughter of a Jewish social worker Jeremias Bendix (1735 -1790), and they had a son and two daughters.[3]
Bloch became interested in fishes only in 1782 after finding fish that he could not find a name for in the works of Linnaeus. He then began to collect fishes and had fish specimens sent from around the world, including correspondents from as far as India like Johann Gerhard König and Christoph Samuel John. The collection was of nearly 1400 specimens and about 800 are now in the Bloch Cabinet of the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. He began to catalog the fishes of Germany in publications from 1782 to 1784, and on fishes from abroad until 1795, printing the books with copper plate engravings made largely at his own expense. He later managed to get subscribers including the Queen and Prince of Prussia, the Prince of Saxe-Coburg, the royal families of Denmark, Sweden, Poland and the court banker Isaac Daniel Itzig. Bloch also published on medicine, writing on such topics as the waters of Pyrmont and on intestinal parasitic worms.
Bloch visited Paris in 1797 to examine the fish collections there and returned via Holland. His health became poor and he went to Carlsbad where he died of a stroke.[4] He was buried in the Jewish cemetery at Lichtenstadt.[3]
Works and legacyedit
French edition of Bloch's work, Histoire naturelle des poissons. (1801)Plate from the French edition, depicting Diodon hystrixAcanthurus blochii, a fish named after Bloch by Achille Valenciennes in 1835, an example of animal named in his honour
Bloch is best known for his encyclopedic work in ichthyology. Between 1782 and 1795 he published his Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische, a 12-volume, beautifully illustrated comprehensive work on fishes. The first three volumes describe fishes in Germany and were entitled Oeconomische Naturgeschichte der Fische Deutschlands, the remaining volumes (in 9 parts) dealt with fishes from other parts of the world and were entitled Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische. A French translation “Ichthyologie, ou histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des poissons” was published in 12 volumes between 1785 and 1797. His Systema Ichthologia was published posthumously by Johann G. Schneider. Bloch followed the fish systematics of Peter Artedi and Carl Linnaeus although he added new systematic characters including the presence or absence of a fifth gill, gill structure, and bony arches. He described at least 267 new species and 19 genera and several of his binomial names are still in use. Bloch's collection of about 800 surviving specimens is preserved at the Museum für Naturkunde of the Humboldt University of Berlin.[3]
Referencesedit
^Hirschberg, Julius (1913). "Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799)". Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift (in German). 39 (19): 900. doi:10.1055/s-0028-1128395. ISSN 0012-0472.
^Popkin, Richard H. (1978). "Moses Mendelssohn and Francisco De Miranda". Jewish Social Studies. 40 (1): 41–48. ISSN 0021-6704. JSTOR 4466986.
^ abcBöttig, Ariadne. Christoph Schulte (ed.). "Marcus Elizer Bloch. Biographie" (in German). Das online-Lexikon zur jüdischen Aufklärung. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
^This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Baynes, T. S., ed. (1878). "Bloch, Mark Eliezer" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
External linksedit
Bloch's works at the Biodiversity Heritage Library
Gallica Illustrations de Ichtyologie ou histoire naturelle générale et particulière des Poissons text Marcus Elieser Bloch, Illustrations:Krüger, J. F. Hennig, Pater Plumier, Ludwig Schmidt, G. Bodenehr and J. F. Hennig Published 1795–1797 at the authors house in Berlin.In French
- eti.uva.nl
December 14, 2023
marcus, elieser, bloch, 1723, 1799, german, physician, naturalist, best, known, contribution, ichthyology, through, multi, volume, catalog, plates, illustrating, fishes, world, brought, hebrew, speaking, jewish, family, learned, german, latin, studied, anatomy. Marcus Elieser Bloch 1723 1799 was a German physician and naturalist who is best known for his contribution to ichthyology through his multi volume catalog of plates illustrating the fishes of the world Brought up in a Hebrew speaking Jewish family he learned German and Latin and studied anatomy before settling in Berlin as a physician He amassed a large natural history collection particularly of fish specimens He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologists of the 18th century and wrote many papers on natural history comparative anatomy and physiology Marcus Elieser BlochPortrait by Anton GraffBorn1723AnsbachDied6 August 1799CarlsbadNationalityGermanScientific careerFieldsIchthyologyMedicineNatural history Contents 1 Life 2 Works and legacy 3 References 4 External linksLife editBloch was born at Ansbach in 1723 where his father was a Torah writer and his mother owned a small shop Educated at home in Hebrew literature he became a private tutor in Hamburg for a Jewish surgeon Here he learned German Latin and anatomy 1 He then studied medicine in Berlin and received a doctorate in 1762 from Frankfort on the Oder with a treatise on skin disorders He then became a general practitioner in Berlin and married Breinche daughter of protected Jew Ruben Joseph Rintel 1699 1765 in 1765 This allowed him to settle in Berlin Bloch helped found the Society of Friends of Natural Sciences in 1773 along with Moses Mendelssohn 2 serving also as Mendelssohn s physician He began to establish a large natural history collection and a library He also began to publish in journals Breinche died in 1769 and their only son died aged 21 while on a trip to Paris to sell the book on fishes that his father had written In 1774 he married Cheile daughter of banker Joseph Veitel Ephraim 1775 1807 and they would have a daughter who married physician Wolf Davidson 1772 1800 After the death of Cheile he married Rahel daughter of a Jewish social worker Jeremias Bendix 1735 1790 and they had a son and two daughters 3 Bloch became interested in fishes only in 1782 after finding fish that he could not find a name for in the works of Linnaeus He then began to collect fishes and had fish specimens sent from around the world including correspondents from as far as India like Johann Gerhard Konig and Christoph Samuel John The collection was of nearly 1400 specimens and about 800 are now in the Bloch Cabinet of the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin He began to catalog the fishes of Germany in publications from 1782 to 1784 and on fishes from abroad until 1795 printing the books with copper plate engravings made largely at his own expense He later managed to get subscribers including the Queen and Prince of Prussia the Prince of Saxe Coburg the royal families of Denmark Sweden Poland and the court banker Isaac Daniel Itzig Bloch also published on medicine writing on such topics as the waters of Pyrmont and on intestinal parasitic worms Bloch visited Paris in 1797 to examine the fish collections there and returned via Holland His health became poor and he went to Carlsbad where he died of a stroke 4 He was buried in the Jewish cemetery at Lichtenstadt 3 Works and legacy edit nbsp French edition of Bloch s work Histoire naturelle des poissons 1801 nbsp Plate from the French edition depicting Diodon hystrix nbsp Acanthurus blochii a fish named after Bloch by Achille Valenciennes in 1835 an example of animal named in his honourSee also Category Taxa named by Marcus Elieser Bloch Bloch is best known for his encyclopedic work in ichthyology Between 1782 and 1795 he published his Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische a 12 volume beautifully illustrated comprehensive work on fishes The first three volumes describe fishes in Germany and were entitled Oeconomische Naturgeschichte der Fische Deutschlands the remaining volumes in 9 parts dealt with fishes from other parts of the world and were entitled Naturgeschichte der auslandischen Fische A French translation Ichthyologie ou histoire naturelle generale et particuliere des poissons was published in 12 volumes between 1785 and 1797 His Systema Ichthologia was published posthumously by Johann G Schneider Bloch followed the fish systematics of Peter Artedi and Carl Linnaeus although he added new systematic characters including the presence or absence of a fifth gill gill structure and bony arches He described at least 267 new species and 19 genera and several of his binomial names are still in use Bloch s collection of about 800 surviving specimens is preserved at the Museum fur Naturkunde of the Humboldt University of Berlin 3 References edit Hirschberg Julius 1913 Marcus Elieser Bloch 1723 1799 Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift in German 39 19 900 doi 10 1055 s 0028 1128395 ISSN 0012 0472 Popkin Richard H 1978 Moses Mendelssohn and Francisco De Miranda Jewish Social Studies 40 1 41 48 ISSN 0021 6704 JSTOR 4466986 a b c Bottig Ariadne Christoph Schulte ed Marcus Elizer Bloch Biographie in German Das online Lexikon zur judischen Aufklarung Retrieved 15 February 2022 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Baynes T S ed 1878 Bloch Mark Eliezer Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 3 9th ed New York Charles Scribner s Sons External links editBloch s works at the Biodiversity Heritage Library Gallica Illustrations de Ichtyologie ou histoire naturelle generale et particuliere des Poissons text Marcus Elieser Bloch Illustrations Kruger J F Hennig Pater Plumier Ludwig Schmidt G Bodenehr and J F Hennig Published 1795 1797 at the authors house in Berlin In French Bloch s Fishes 1782 1795 revisited eti uva nl Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Marcus Elieser Bloch amp oldid 1185109234, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
