2 5 o TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



GEOEGE MAECGEAVE, THE FIEST STUDENT OF 

 AMERICAN NATUEAL HISTOEY 



Br De. E. W. GTIDGER 



STATE NORMAL COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C. 



4fc /^ EOEGE MAECGEAVE 1 was born at Liebstadt in Saxony in 

 ^J~ 1610, went as physician with the expedition of Count Maurice 

 of Nassau- Siegen to Brazil in 1638, wrote ' Historia Eerum Naturalium 

 Brasilise' and died on the coast of Guinea in 1644." Such are the 

 accounts, when divested of errors, given of Marcgrave in our biograph- 

 ical dictionaries. 



However, the present writer, having had occasion to trace back to 

 Marcgrave, as the original describer and figurer of the species or genus, 

 three American fishes on whose life histories he has worked, has become 

 somewhat acquainted with his career. Finding this of much interest, 

 he has endeavored to collect the scattering data and has worked it into 

 this sketch, hoping that other present-day students of natural history 

 may also find it of interest to know something of this man who first of 

 all essayed to make known to the old world the real natural history of 

 the new. If in this sketch the present writer has helped to make 

 Marcgrave's excellent work known, and to give him the recognition he 

 justly deserves, he will feel abundantly repaid. 



As the sequel will show, the material for a sketch of Marcgrave's life 

 is scanty, widely scattered and hidden in little-known sources. Con- 

 siderable time and effort have been spent during the past year in getting 

 it together, but the amount of data would have been comparatively 

 limited save for the help and cooperation of a number of librarians. 2 



1 Also spelled Markgrave, Marggrave, Margrave, Markgraf, Marggraf, 

 Marcgraf, but written by himself Marcgrave. 



3 The majority of the works cited have been consulted through the kind 

 offices of Mr. Herbert Putnam, librarian, and Mr. W. W. Bishop, superintendent 

 of the reading room of the Library of Congress. To Mr. Harry Clemons, refer- 

 ence librarian of the Princeton University Library, and to Mr. H. H. B. Meyer, 

 chief bibliographer of the Library of Congress, the writer is indebted for many 

 courtesies in matters of bibliography. To Mr. H. M. Lydenberg, reference 

 librarian of the New York Public Library, his debt is great. Mr. Lydenberg 

 has taken a personal interest in this work and has supplied data and references 

 of which the writer, would never have heard but for his kindness. He is likewise 

 under especial obligations to Dr. Perlbach, of the Royal Library of Berlin, for 

 photographs of the original drawings of Brazilian objects (hereinafterwards 

 reproduced), for references and for copies of articles not procurable in America. 

 For help in translating the large number of Latin references used, the writer is 

 under obligation to Misses Boddie and Dameron, of the Latin department of this 



