Gerhardt Friedrich Müller
Encyclopedia
Gerhard Friedrich Müller (October 29, 1705 in Herford
– October 22, 1783 in Moscow
) was a historian and pioneer ethnologist.
.
In 1725, he was invited to St. Petersburg to co-found the Imperial Academy of Sciences
. Müller participated in the second Kamchatka expedition
, which reported on life and nature of the further (eastern) side of the Ural mountain range. From 1733 till 1743, nineteen scientists and artists traveled through Siberia
to study people, cultures and collected data for the creation of maps. Müller, who described and categorized clothing, religions and rituals of the Siberian ethnic groups, is considered to be the father of ethnography.
On his return from Siberia, he became historiographer to the Russian Empire
.
He was one of the first historians to bring out a general account of Russian history based on extensive examination of documentary sources. His accentuation of the role of Scandinavians and Germans in the history of that country – a germ of the so-called Normanist theory – earned him enmity of Lomonosov, who had previously supported his work, and dented his Russian career. In 1766, after many attacks by his colleagues, was appointed keeper of the national archives. He drew up for the government a collection of its treatises.
In 1761, Müller was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
.
Herford
Herford is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford.- Geographic location :...
– October 22, 1783 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a historian and pioneer ethnologist.
Biography
He was educated at LeipzigUniversity of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
.
In 1725, he was invited to St. Petersburg to co-found the Imperial Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
. Müller participated in the second Kamchatka expedition
Great Northern Expedition
The Great Northern Expedition or Second Kamchatka expedition was one of the largest organised exploration enterprises in history, resulting in mapping of the most of the Arctic coast of Siberia and some parts of the North America coastline, greatly reducing the "white areas" on the maps...
, which reported on life and nature of the further (eastern) side of the Ural mountain range. From 1733 till 1743, nineteen scientists and artists traveled through Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
to study people, cultures and collected data for the creation of maps. Müller, who described and categorized clothing, religions and rituals of the Siberian ethnic groups, is considered to be the father of ethnography.
On his return from Siberia, he became historiographer to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
He was one of the first historians to bring out a general account of Russian history based on extensive examination of documentary sources. His accentuation of the role of Scandinavians and Germans in the history of that country – a germ of the so-called Normanist theory – earned him enmity of Lomonosov, who had previously supported his work, and dented his Russian career. In 1766, after many attacks by his colleagues, was appointed keeper of the national archives. He drew up for the government a collection of its treatises.
In 1761, Müller was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
.
Further reading
- Joseph Lawrence Black, G.F. Müller and the Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences, 1725-1783: First Steps in the Development of the Historical Sciences in Russia. Kingston-Montréal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1986.
- Joseph Lawrence Black and Dieter K. Buse, G.-F. Müller and Siberia, 1733-1743. With translations of German materials by Victoria Joan Moessner. Kingston, Ontario/Fairbanks, Alaska: Limestone Press (Russia and Asia Series 1), 1989.
- Aleksander Christianovich Elert, Ekspedicionnye materialy G. F. Millera kak istocnik po istorii Sibiri [Expedition Materials of G.F. Müller as Sources for the History of Siberia]. Novosibirsk, 1990. ISBN 5-02-029627-9
- Gudrun Bucher, "Von Beschreibung der Sitten und Gebräuche der Völcker": Die Instruktionen Gerhard Friedrich Müllers und ihre Bedeutung für die Geschichte der Ethnologie und der Geschichtswissenschaft. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag (Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte des östlichen Europa 63), 2002.
- Claus Priesner, Müller, Gerhard Friedrich von. Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) 18 (1997), S. 394 f. On-line edition: http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd118953362.html
- Peter Hoffmann, Gerhard Friedrich Müller (1705-1783): Historiker, Geograph, Archivar im Dienste Russlands. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2005.
- Gerard Fridrich Miller [Gerhard Friedrich Müller], Opisanie sibirskich narodov. [Beschreibung sibirischer Völker]. Edited by Aleksandr Christianovich Elert and Wieland Hintzsche. Moskva: Pamjatniki Istoricheskoj Mysli (Quellen zur Geschichte Sibiriens und Alaskas aus russischen Archiven Band VIII/1), 2009.
- Gerhard Friedrich Müller, Ethnographische Schriften I. Bearbeitet von Wieland Hintzsche und Aleksandr Christianovich Elert unter Mitarbeit von Heike Heklau. Halle: Verlag der Franckeschen Stiftungen zu Halle, Harrassowitz Verlag in Kommission (Quellen zur Geschichte Sibiriens und Alaskas aus russischen Archiven VIII), 2010. ISBN 978-3-447-06402-6. Band I: Beschreibung der sibirischen Völker [ca. 1736-1747].