Baltic-German botanist, geologist and entomologist in Tartu. Alexander Gustav von Schrenk attended the University of Tartu from 1834 until 1837, and over the years that followed worked for the St. Petersburg Botanic Garden as a plant collector. In 1837 he was a pioneer collector in the north-east of European Russia, particularly the arctic Urals, publishing an account of this expedition in 1848 with further scientific supplements in 1854. From the trip he obtained valuable information about the flora, geology, palaeontology and population of the region. Schrenk began to explore Central Asia in 1840 and, gathering specimens and data in the historic region of Dzhungaria, he discovered 76 new species of plant and 33 insects. In 1846 he returned to the University of Tartu where he lectured for the rest of his life. Schrenk also published two collections of poems.

Sources:
V. Kaavere, 1990, "Alexander von Schrenck: a geologist, botanist and man of letters", Eesti Loodus, 6: 415
F.A. Stafleu and R.S. Cowan, 1976-1998, Taxonomic Literature, 2nd edition (TL-2).