Biography

Swiss physician and botanist in Montbéliard. Older brother of botanist Gaspard (Caspar) Bauhin, like him, Jean (Johann) Bauhin was a pre-Linnaean scientist responsible for publishing one of the earliest works devoted to the classification of plants. His father a physician exiled from France due to his religious views, the young Bauhin studied anatomy in Basel where he was born. Between 1560 and 1563 he travelled in Europe, visiting many foreign universities. Based in Montpellier for over a year Bauhin also studied in Tübingen. As a student he undertook many collecting trips in Europe and sent specimens to his friend, Conrad Gesner, for identification. The pair made a long expedition to the Rhaetian Alps in 1561 where they carried out seminal studies into the alpine flora. Bauhin also collected in Provence and in Northern Italy around this time.

After establishing a medical practice in Lyon in 1563 he married Denyse Bornand, with whom he had six children (three of which died in infancy). Unfortunately he suffered the same fate as his father and was forced to flee to Switzerland because of religious persecution. In Geneva Bauhin also practised medicine before returning to his home town where he was named professor of rhetoric at the university in 1570. Becoming physician to the Duke of Württemburg the following year, he was based in Montbéliard (at that time part of the House of Württemburg), where he established a botanic garden and archaeological museum. In the same city in 1575 he was responsible for founding the College of Medical Practitioners which regulated the profession in the region and also provided free healthcare to the poor.

Remaining in Montbéliard until his death, Jean Bauhin published several medical papers, particularly focusing on his theory that insects were the cause of disease. His first publication, Historia fontis Bollensis (1598) had a volume (IV) dedicated to botany and palaeontology and from 1600 he began work on his most important publication, which was in the field of botany. Gesner had been perpetually in the process of preparing a Historia Plantarum but never saw it finished in his lifetime. Bauhin resurrected this work and developed it, using a wide network of correspondents which he had developed on his travels. He received help from his son-in-law, J.H. Cherler, who had some understanding of the English and Belgian flora, and for his small contribution Bauhin recognised him as co-author. Despite these efforts, his Historia Plantarum Universalis was not published at the time of his death, although he had largely completed the work. The manuscripts moved to Yverdon but the publication was not funded for many years. Eventually F.L. de Graffenried provided the money and Bauhin's s work was published in 1650-1651. An overview of botanical knowledge at that time it contained detailed descriptions of 5,226 species (mostly from Europe) with 3,600 illustrations; unlike his brother's Pinax Theatri botanici (1623) which was important for its nomenclature and synonyms. Most of Jean Bauhin's herbarium was incorporated into that of his younger brother, which is housed in Basel University, although some of his specimens ended up in Oxford. The genus Bauhinia was dedicated to him and his brother by Carl Linnaeus, perhaps because it has two-lobed leaves.

Sources:
W. Junk, 1926, Portraits of old Botanists
G. Whitteridge, 1970, "Gaspard Bauhin", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, 1: 522-525.

Biography

Swiss physician and botanist in Montbéliard. Older brother of botanist Gaspard (Caspar) Bauhin, like him, Jean (Johann) Bauhin was a pre-Linnaean scientist responsible for publishing one of the earliest works devoted to the classification of plants. His father a physician exiled from France due to his religious views, the young Bauhin studied anatomy in Basel where he was born. Between 1560 and 1563 he travelled in Europe, visiting many foreign universities. Based in Montpellier for over a year Bauhin also studied in Tübingen. As a student he undertook many collecting trips in Europe and sent specimens to his friend, Conrad Gesner, for identification. The pair made a long expedition to the Rhaetian Alps in 1561 where they carried out seminal studies into the alpine flora. Bauhin also collected in Provence and in Northern Italy around this time.

After establishing a medical practice in Lyon in 1563 he married Denyse Bornand, with whom he had six children (three of which died in infancy). Unfortunately he suffered the same fate as his father and was forced to flee to Switzerland because of religious persecution. In Geneva Bauhin also practised medicine before returning to his home town where he was named professor of rhetoric at the university in 1570. Becoming physician to the Duke of Württemburg the following year, he was based in Montbéliard (at that time part of the House of Württemburg), where he established a botanic garden and archaeological museum. In the same city in 1575 he was responsible for founding the College of Medical Practitioners which regulated the profession in the region and also provided free healthcare to the poor.

Remaining in Montbéliard until his death, Jean Bauhin published several medical papers, particularly focusing on his theory that insects were the cause of disease. His first publication, Historia fontis Bollensis (1598) had a volume (IV) dedicated to botany and palaeontology and from 1600 he began work on his most important publication, which was in the field of botany. Gesner had been perpetually in the process of preparing a Historia Plantarum but never saw it finished in his lifetime. Bauhin resurrected this work and developed it, using a wide network of correspondents which he had developed on his travels. He received help from his son-in-law, J.H. Cherler, who had some understanding of the English and Belgian flora, and for his small contribution Bauhin recognised him as co-author. Despite these efforts, his Historia Plantarum Universalis was not published at the time of his death, although he had largely completed the work. The manuscripts moved to Yverdon but the publication was not funded for many years. Eventually F.L. de Graffenried provided the money and Bauhin's s work was published in 1650-1651. An overview of botanical knowledge at that time it contained detailed descriptions of 5,226 species (mostly from Europe) with 3,600 illustrations; unlike his brother's Pinax Theatri botanici (1623) which was important for its nomenclature and synonyms. Most of Jean Bauhin's herbarium was incorporated into that of his younger brother, which is housed in Basel University, although some of his specimens ended up in Oxford. The genus Bauhinia was dedicated to him and his brother by Carl Linnaeus, perhaps because it has two-lobed leaves.

Sources:
W. Junk, 1926, Portraits of old Botanists
G. Whitteridge, 1970, "Gaspard Bauhin", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, 1: 522-525.