﻿3] 
  4 
  TROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOURTH 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  MEETIKO 
  

  

  (Denmark) 
  on 
  29th 
  November, 
  1728.* 
  We 
  know 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  a 
  pupil 
  

   of 
  Linnaeus 
  who 
  commemorated 
  his 
  name 
  by 
  bestowing 
  the 
  generic 
  

   name 
  Kcenigia 
  f 
  on 
  a 
  curious 
  little 
  plant 
  discovered 
  by 
  Koenig 
  during 
  

   the 
  latter's 
  travels 
  in 
  Iceland 
  in 
  the 
  year 
  1765. 
  

  

  The 
  exact 
  year 
  in 
  which 
  Koenig 
  first 
  arrived 
  in 
  India 
  is 
  not 
  known 
  

  

  with 
  certainty 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  probably 
  about 
  1767. 
  J 
  We 
  know 
  at 
  least 
  

  

  that, 
  in 
  a 
  letter 
  written 
  to 
  Linnaeus 
  from 
  Tranquebar 
  on 
  26 
  July 
  1769, 
  

  

  he 
  refers 
  to 
  another 
  letter 
  written 
  more 
  than 
  three 
  months 
  before, 
  but 
  

  

  . 
  this 
  former 
  letter 
  is 
  apparently 
  not 
  now 
  extant. 
  

  

  Koenig 
  apparently 
  came 
  to 
  India, 
  under 
  the 
  protection 
  of 
  the 
  King 
  

   of 
  Denmark, 
  as 
  physician 
  to 
  the 
  Danish 
  settlement 
  at 
  Tranquebar.§ 
  

   It 
  seems 
  probable, 
  however, 
  that 
  he 
  accepted 
  this 
  appointment 
  mainly 
  

   as 
  giving 
  him 
  an 
  opportunity 
  of 
  improving 
  the, 
  at 
  that 
  time, 
  very 
  scanty 
  

   knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  Natural 
  History 
  of 
  India, 
  Little 
  is 
  said 
  in 
  contem- 
  

   porary 
  accounts 
  of 
  his 
  medical 
  duties, 
  but 
  we 
  know 
  that 
  he 
  resided 
  for 
  

   several 
  years 
  at 
  Tranquebar 
  where 
  he 
  applied 
  himself 
  indefatigably 
  to 
  

   acquiring 
  a 
  knowledge 
  of 
  Indian 
  Plants. 
  It 
  is 
  more 
  than 
  probable 
  that 
  

   he 
  also 
  made 
  considerable 
  collections 
  of 
  insects 
  and 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  his 
  

   energies 
  that 
  we 
  owe 
  the 
  long 
  list 
  of 
  insects 
  described 
  from 
  Tranquebar 
  

   during 
  the 
  succeeding 
  twenty 
  years 
  by 
  Fabricius, 
  with 
  whom 
  we 
  know 
  

   that 
  Koenig 
  was 
  in 
  communication. 
  He 
  seems, 
  indeed, 
  to 
  have 
  paid 
  

   some 
  attention 
  to 
  every 
  branch 
  of 
  Natural 
  History, 
  as 
  we 
  read 
  of 
  his 
  

   giving 
  assistance 
  in 
  mineralogy 
  to 
  Dr. 
  James 
  Anderson, 
  who 
  in 
  1795 
  

   was 
  Physician 
  General 
  at 
  Fort 
  St. 
  George. 
  It 
  is, 
  however, 
  as 
  a 
  Botanist 
  

   that 
  Koenig 
  is 
  best 
  known 
  and 
  all 
  of 
  his 
  published 
  writings 
  deal 
  

   with 
  Botany, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  his 
  paper 
  on 
  Termites. 
  Little 
  

   is 
  on 
  record 
  concerning 
  Koenig's 
  life 
  at 
  Tranquebar 
  but 
  Ave 
  can 
  

   picture 
  him 
  performing 
  the 
  routine 
  duties 
  of 
  Medical 
  Officer 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  

   that 
  small 
  Danish 
  Settlement 
  and 
  devoting 
  every 
  spare 
  moment 
  to 
  

   the 
  acquisition 
  of 
  specimens 
  and 
  knowledge 
  of 
  that 
  Natural 
  History 
  

   which 
  he 
  loved 
  so 
  well. 
  Whenever 
  his 
  opportunities 
  and 
  finances 
  

   afforded, 
  he 
  made 
  occasional 
  collecting 
  expeditions 
  from 
  Tranquebar 
  

   and 
  thus 
  visited 
  the 
  Dutch, 
  French 
  and 
  British 
  Settlements 
  along 
  the 
  

  

  * 
  Tho 
  place 
  and 
  date 
  of 
  birth 
  are 
  given 
  by 
  Ilagon 
  (Bibliotheca 
  Entom. 
  I, 
  428). 
  

  

  t 
  Mantissa 
  Linn. 
  Gen. 
  PI. 
  p. 
  13. 
  

  

  X 
  Dr. 
  Russell 
  says 
  " 
  probably 
  in 
  17(38 
  " 
  Foulkcs 
  {Madras 
  Jonniul 
  of 
  Literalurc 
  and 
  

   Science, 
  No. 
  11, 
  New 
  Series 
  — 
  May 
  1861) 
  says 
  that 
  Koenig 
  " 
  had 
  preceded 
  Rottlor 
  in 
  tho 
  

   mission 
  Ijy 
  nearly 
  ten 
  years." 
  Rottlcr 
  an-ived 
  at 
  Trancpiebar 
  on 
  5th 
  August 
  1770. 
  

  

  § 
  In 
  his 
  " 
  Biographical 
  Memoir 
  of 
  Dr. 
  Rottlcr 
  ", 
  published 
  in 
  the 
  Madras 
  Journal 
  of 
  

   Litcrnturc 
  ami 
  Science, 
  No. 
  11, 
  New 
  iSeries 
  — 
  May 
  1801, 
  the 
  Rev. 
  T. 
  Foulkcs 
  notes 
  

   tliat 
  " 
  besides 
  [Ka3nigl 
  the 
  naturalist, 
  who 
  was 
  for 
  a 
  while 
  the 
  Medical 
  Adviser 
  of 
  this 
  

   Mission 
  [the 
  Danish 
  Mission 
  at 
  Tranquebar], 
  and 
  not 
  ordained, 
  there 
  «as 
  at 
  (he 
  same 
  

   time 
  a 
  missionary 
  of 
  tho 
  same 
  name 
  in 
  holy 
  orders 
  at 
  Tramjuebar. 
  In 
  the 
  documents 
  

   that 
  I 
  have 
  consulted 
  the 
  accounts 
  of 
  these 
  two 
  individuls 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  hopelessly 
  inter- 
  

   mingled. 
  The 
  Clergyman 
  died 
  in 
  1795, 
  after 
  27 
  years' 
  residence 
  in 
  India." 
  

  

  