German medic and naturalist, Alexander von Frantzius lived for many years in Costa Rica and studied its flora and fauna, particularly birds and mammals. Born in Danzig he attended the University of Berlin where he studied medicine and met Carl Hoffmann, a fellow trainee medic and natural history enthusiast. The two became friends and came to know the explorer Alexander von Humboldt, who recommended they relocate to Costa Rica to undertake scientific research.
Writing to the Costa Rican president Juan Rafael Mora, Humboldt praised the pair's skill and dedication in both medicine and natural history and even suggested they be employed as professors. Frantzius suffered from a chronic pulmonary condition, which may have been tuberculosis, and they seem to have chosen the neotropics in an attempt to cure his ailments, as well as to flee the current political situation. The two sailed to San Juan del Norte (Greytown), Nicaragua, in 1854 and from arrival in Costa Rica Frantzius settled in Alajuela, believing it to have the most beneficial climate for his illness.
Later he moved to San Jose and set up a successful pharmacy, which eventually came to be known as the Botica Francesa; this establishment was a popular meeting place for local naturalists of the time, where they exchanged knowledge and Franzius taught the next generation of Costa Rican natural scientists. Amongst his pupils and associates were José Castulo Zeledón, who went on to become an eminent ornithologist and take over the pharmacy business after Frantzius, J. Fidél Tristán and Anastásio Alfaro. The group (known as the 'drugstore gang') undertook many an expedition together collecting around the capital and can be considered the forefathers of natural science research in the Republic.
Remaining in San Jose for 15 years Frantzius married here and from his research and collections published on a wide variety of topics, including geography, climatology, volcanology, cartography and ethnography, but most importantly mammology and ornithology, creating the first annotated list of birds and mammals for the country (1869). His collections were first sent to Berlin before being transferred to the Smithsonian Institution and despite having less interest in the field of botany, he still collected specimens and had a number of species named after him, including the genus Frantzia (Cucurbitaceae) named by Henri Pittier. In ornithology 10 species were named after him including the Ruddy-capped Nightingale-thrush Catharus frantzii and the Fiery-Billed Aracari Pteroglossus frantzii. Frantzius returned to Germany in 1869 to become secretary of the German Anthropological Society and died in Freiburg in 1877.
Sources:
Mathers Savage, J., 2002, The amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica: a herpetofauna between two continents, between two seas. University of Chicago Press.
Quirós, H. L., 2006, Karl Hoffmann: naturalista, médico y héroe nacional. Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad.
