German physician and explorer sent on a lengthy expedition to Siberia by the Russian Crown. Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt was the first naturalist to comprehensively explore Siberia and did so alone with little support, eventually bringing many important specimens and maps back to St. Petersburg but, unable to publish his findings, he died in obscurity.

Born in Danzig (now Gdansk) his father was chief inspector of shipping and Messerschmidt began to study foreign languages at the age of four. First attending the University of Jena (1706), two years later he moved to the University of Halle where he studied medicine under Friedrich Hoffmann and was named a doctor in 1713. Returning to Danzig to practise as a physician, Messerschmidt befriended professor J.P. Breyn of the city's natural history museum for whom he collected specimens in the local area. When, in 1716, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great visited Breyn in Danzig, the young Messerschmidt was recommended to him as an able collector who could gather specimens in Russia for the imperial collection. It was decided and Messerschmidt left for Riga by boat in 1718. Continuing on to St. Petersburg he was tasked with the exploration of Siberia in order to collect its rarities, particularly plant material of pharmaceutical worth, under the supervision of the Medical Chancellery.

He set out in the spring of 1719 but after reaching Moscow faced the first of what would be a long line of bureaucratic hurdles. Although sent by the Tsar himself, Messerschmidt carried with him no official documentation and therefore spent much of the expedition caught up in lengthy negotiations with local authorities, trying to gain passage and supplies for his onward journey. Eventually he was granted permission to travel as far as Tobol'sk, and he did so by boat and sled, passing Kazan, Somikinsk and Tyumen. Here he was held up throughout 1720 but gained help in his collecting activities from a number of Swedish prisoners of war, and successfully petitioned for them to join him in his onward journey. Eventually he received authorisation for free passage and support throughout Siberia and they departed in March 1721 to cross the Barabinskii (Baraba) Steppe to Tomsk. There, as spring uncovered evermore vegetation, Messerschmidt began a systematic survey of the regions flora and bird life and spent much of 1722 in the Abakansk area and the Altai Mountains.

Travelling to Irkutsk in the winter he explored the Baikal region in 1923 and was the first to document fossil mammoth remains which he studied and sent via Breyn to Sir Hans Sloane in London, who published the findings in 1737. Here he also compiled a list of 1,216 medicinal plant names but in 1724 received word from the Medical Chancellery to return, asking why they had not yet heard from him. Replying that he had sent packages of specimens periodically along the way, he continued to explore the region and only returned to Irkutsk in 1725. In early 1726 D.L. Blumentrost, head of the Medical Chancellery, demanded that the Siberian governor send Messerschmidt back immediately but he was still held up for eight months in Solikamsk before arriving back in St Petersburg late that year, after seven years of exploration.

The problems that Messerschmidt had faced and his lack of funds meant he had a very antagonistic relationship with Blumentrost, who was in turn angered by Messerschmidt's insubordination at returning home later than requested. On arrival all of his collections were seized and held in the Medical Chancellery's cellar. A long conflict ensued a over what would happen to his specimens and whether they in fact belonged to Messerschmidt or the Russian Empire. He had personally collected duplicates and copied all important manuscripts, anticipating this scenario, but the Chancellery were still suspicious that he would return to his homeland with precious items. Messerschmidt was denied a passport to return to his home country unless he hand over all material to the Kunstkammer (the Russian Imperial curiosity cabinet) and sign an oath that he would publish nothing without prior consent from the Academy of Sciences. He complied, but before leaving married Brigitta Helena, the daughter of an official he had met in Somikinsk, and left with her and their new-born daughter in 1729.

Messerschmidt's bad luck was not over yet, and the ship he boarded for Danzig sank. Although he and his family were saved, all of is personal possessions were lost including the small items and manuscripts he had been allowed to take from Siberia. Despite his years of hard work, Messerschmidt's image was marred by the bad press he received from the Academy and he was not offered any positions of merit. Eventually in 1731 he returned to St. Petersburg, perhaps in the hope of working on his specimens, but was too proud to ask permission or accept help. Eventually he died poor and unnoticed in 1735. Georg W. Steller, a later explorer of Siberia and Kamchatka, probably helped him in his final years, but after Messerschmidt's death Steller went on to receive the fame he never had, and married his widow Brigitta.

Sources:
W.J. Bryce, 2008, A Botanist's Paradise: The Establishment of Scientific Botany in Russia in the Eighteenth Century.