Juan Gundlach
Encyclopedia
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and taxonomist.
Biography
Gundlach graduated from Marburg University, where his father was professorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, as Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1837. In 1839, he left Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to make collections on the Caribbean
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, where he lived ever since. During a short trip to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, at the request of Jesuit fathers to offer assistance in the creation of a zoological collection, in 1868, when revolutionary activities were beginning in Cuba as well as Puerto Rico, he met with don Tomás Blanco
Tomás Blanco
Tomás Blanco was a Spanish film actor. He appeared in over 140 films between 1942 and 1983.He was born in Bilbao, Spain and died in Madrid, Spain.-Selected filmography:* Apartado de correos 1001...
, according to naturalist Dr. Agustin Stahl
Agustín Stahl
Dr. Agustín Stahl , was a medical doctor and the first renowned Puerto Rican scientist, with diverse interests in the fields of ethnology, botany and zoology. He advocated Puerto Rico's independence from Spain....
. A friend of Carl Wilhelm Leopold Krug, who served as German Vice Consul in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez is the eighth-largest municipality of Puerto Rico. Originally founded as "Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria" it is also known as "La Sultana del Oeste" , "Ciudad de las Aguas Puras" , or "Ciudad del Mangó"...
and who paid for some of Gundlach's travels, he visited Puerto Rico in 1873, leaving Havana on 4 June 1873 on the ship Manuela, arriving in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez is the eighth-largest municipality of Puerto Rico. Originally founded as "Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria" it is also known as "La Sultana del Oeste" , "Ciudad de las Aguas Puras" , or "Ciudad del Mangó"...
on 13 June, staying in Puerto Rico for approximately six months. During that trip, Gundlach contributed to the founding of the Civil Institute for Secondary Learning or "Instituto Civil de Segunda Enseñanza". This institute was closed several months later, in keeping with the Spanish government's policy, expressed to the bishops of Santiago in Cuba and of San Juan, of limiting the opportunities for higher learning, both in Cuba as well as Puerto Rico. He subsequently travelled from Havana to Puerto Rico's west coast aboard the "Marsella" in September of 1875. He remained in Puerto Rico for approximately one year during that trip. While he was there, he changed his name from Johannes Christoph to its Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
equivalent Juan Cristóbal. He wrote the first major work on the bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s of Cuba, Ornitología Cubana, and his name is recorded in the scientific names of over sixty species. His collections passed into the care of the Museo Poey in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, named after Cuban intellectual Dr. Felipe Poey y Aloy (1799-1891), upon his death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
in 1896. http://mdz10.bib-bvb.de/~db/bsb00008407/images/index.html?seite=636.
In 1986, on the 90th anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
of his death, Cuba issued a series of postal stamps commemorating Gundlach.
His visits to Puerto Rico were considered so important to the development of the study of natural sciences in Puerto Rico that he is considered "the Father of Natural Sciences in Puerto Rico" and his portrait, painted by Andrés Garcés, hangs in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
Río Piedras campus. To honor him, Dr. Agustín Stahl
Agustín Stahl
Dr. Agustín Stahl , was a medical doctor and the first renowned Puerto Rican scientist, with diverse interests in the fields of ethnology, botany and zoology. He advocated Puerto Rico's independence from Spain....
named a species of the cupey tree in his honor as Clusia gundlachi. The Puerto Rico Academy of Arts and Sciences on June 26, 2008, awarded recognitions that carry Gundlach's name to 25 prominent scientists in Puerto Rico.
He wrote Contribucion á la Erpetologia Cubana (1880) and Contribucion á la entomologia Cubana in 4 volumes (1881-1884).
Species named for Gundlach
- Accipiter gundlachii - Gundlach's HawkGundlach's HawkThe Gundlach's Hawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It is endemic to Cuba.Its natural habitats are dry forests and lowland moist forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:*...
- Bufo gundlachii - Gundlach's Caribbean toad
- Cazierus gundlachii - a Cuban scorpionScorpionScorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
- Dendroica petechia gundlachi - subspecies of Yellow WarblerYellow WarblerDendroica petechia is a New World warbler species or superspecies; the subspecies group around D. aestiva is increasingly treated as good species Dendroica aestiva again. The name for the entire cryptic species complex is Mangrove Warbler, and another group of subspecies is known as Golden Warbler...
(petechia group) - Palinurellus gundlachi - Caribbean furry lobsterFurry lobsterFurry lobsters are small decapod crustaceans, closely related to the slipper lobsters and spiny lobsters. The antennae are not as enlarged as in spiny and slipper lobsters, and the body is covered in short hairs, hence the name furry lobster...
- Vireo gundlachii - Cuban VireoCuban VireoThe Cuban Vireo is a species of bird in the Vireonidae family that is endemic to Cuba. Its natural habitats are dry forests, lowland moist forests, xeric shrublands, and heavily degraded former forest.-References:...
- GundlachiaGundlachiaGundlachia is a genus of minute freshwater snails or limpets, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails and their allies....
- a genus of land snails - Nephronaias gundlachii - another land snail
- Anolis gundlachi - a lizard living in Puerto Rico
- Anolis juangundlachi - a lizard living in Cuba
- Clusia gundlachi - a vine endemic to Puerto Rico
- Unio gundlachi - a freshwater bivalve
External links
- works by Juan Gundlach at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do?find_family=&find_genus=&find_species=gundlachii&find_infrafamily=&find_infragenus=&find_infraspecies=&find_authorAbbrev=&find_includePublicationAuthors=on&find_includePublicationAuthors=off&find_includeBasionymAuthors=on&find_includeBasionymAuthors=off&find_publicationTitle=&find_isAPNIRecord=on&find_isAPNIRecord=false&find_isGCIRecord=on&find_isGCIRecord=false&find_isIKRecord=on&find_isIKRecord=false&find_rankToReturn=all&output_format=normal&find_sortByFamily=on&find_sortByFamily=off&query_type=by_query&back_page=plantsearchPlants named for Gundlach at IPNI]
- Vilaro, Juan, Sketch of John Gundlach, Popular Science vol 50, no 42, March 1897 (Google Books)