M U L 
he thought would enable a pe.rfon of ordinary capacity to 
read Chinefe and Japaneft books in the couri’e of a few 
months. This work never appeared, and it is believed 
lie burnt the manufeript with many others, during a fit 
c f ficknefs attended with delirium. He died in 1694., and 
by his laft will bequeathed his Chinefe printing-materials 
t o the library at Berlin. He was author of many very 
learned works; of theft the titles of the following may 
be n ote ^ 1 1 • Abdallae Beidavei Hiftoria Sinenfis Perfice 
et L at * n ®> cum notis. 2. Monumentum Sinicum cum 
Com'nentario novenfili. 3. Hebdomas Obfervationum 
Siriicarum. 4' FEconomia Bibliothecae Sinicae. 5. Syin- 
bola Syrica, cum duabus Differtatiotiibus. Some of his 
work s were colledfed together and publifnedin 1695, with 
the title of f ‘ Mulleri Opufcula nonnulla Orientalia.” It 
is recorded of him, that he was fo attached to his books, 
that he would not leave them for a moment to witnefs the 
great cavalcade, on the entry of Charles II. into London, 
that palled by his window. Gen. liiog. > 
MUL'LER (Gerhard-Frederic), a celebrated German, 
known as well for his travels as his writings, was born in 
1705, in Herforden, in Weltphalia, where he received the 
early part of his education under his father. At the age 
offeventeen he was fent to the univerfity ofRinteln, where 
he refided a year, and then removed to Leipfic. Here he 
fodiftin<niilhed himfelf, that he was recommended bypro- 
fefl.br Men eke as an adjunct in the hiftorical clafsof the 
academy founded at Peterfburgh by Peter the Great. He 
accordingly fet out for that city, and was fome time em¬ 
ployed in teaching the higher claffes in the Latin language, 
geography, and hiftory : he was then appointed affiftant 
fecretary to the inftitution ; in 1728 he was made under- 
librarian to the imperial library, and in 1730 he was chofeu 
profeffor of hiftory. 
He now' applied for leave of abfence, in order to gratify 
his wifli of feeing foreign countries. His tour through 
Germany, Holland, and England, lafted from the month 
of Auguft 1730 till the month of Auguft 1731 ; and in 
the courfe of which he was elefted a fellow of the Royal 
Society of London. On his return to Peterfburgh he read 
ledtures in the academy till 1733 ; and gave private in- 
flrudtions to fome young gentlemen who were placed un¬ 
der his tuition. 
At this period a new theatre w'as opened for his talents, 
by his being appointed to accompany J. G. Gmelin and 
Pe L’lfle de la Croyere on their travels through Siberia. 
The department affigned to Muller was every thing that 
related to the geography and antiquities of the country, as 
■well as the hiftory of the different tribes by which it is in¬ 
habited ; and it appears, from the information which he 
tranfmitted to the dire&iiig fenate, and to the academy, 
and from his works, that no perfon better qualified could 
have been employed for this purpofe. He wrote an ac¬ 
curate account of the whole journey; traced out the va¬ 
rious routes, or caufed them to be delineated by his af- 
fiftants ; wrote geographical, hiftorical, and political, de¬ 
scriptions of all the towns ; examined their records, and 
took extra&s from them, which all together formed fifty 
volumes in folio. He likewife adfed as fecretary to the 
expedition, and affifted Gmelin in collecting objeCts of 
natural hiftory. He conftruCted, alfo, feveral maps, and 
had others conftruCted by the engineers who accompanied 
him. Thefe travellers left Peterfburgh on the 8th of Au¬ 
guft, 1733; and,proceeding down the Volga, arrived, in the 
middle of OCtober, at Kafan, and towards the end of De¬ 
cember crofted the Ural Mountains, which form the boun¬ 
dary betw'een Europe and Afia, and between Ruflia Proper 
and Siberia. In the lubfequent long feries of travels they 
underwent great fatigues, and their health was expofed to 
much injury from the feverity of the climates which they 
vifited. M. Muller, in particular, was a confiderable fuf- 
ferer from indifpofition, though it did not prevent his ac¬ 
tive purfuit of the objeCts of his million. We fliall not 
here enter into the particulars of his travels, which form 
a diftinCt narrative, together with thofe of his companions, 
Voi.. XVI. No. J103. 
l k r. ' iei 
It was not till January 1 1742, that in company with Gme¬ 
lin' he left Tobollk on his return to Europe. They palled 
the fummer in Werchoturia, where Muller became ac¬ 
quainted with the widow of a German furgeon, whom he 
married, and with whom he afterwards lived in the happieft 
union for forty-one years. In February 1743, they readied 
Peterfburgh, after a journey of nearly ten years, during 
which they had travelled about 4480 German miles, or 
more than three times that number of Englilh miles. An 
account of their travels was afterwards publilhed by Gme¬ 
lin, in four volumes 8vo. Notwithftanding the hardlhips 
which thefe travellers had undergone, and the difficulties 
they had encountered, in this long and tedious tour, 
they did not meet with that reward which they expefted, 
and to which they were juftly entitled. Gmelin, there¬ 
fore, returned in difguft to his own country, where he 
was appointed prefeffor of chemiftry and botany in Tu¬ 
bingen ; but Muller remained in Ruflia, obliged for a long 
time to ftruggle with poverty, and all thofe evils to which, 
men of letters are too often expofed. This negleft, how ¬ 
ever, did not damp his ardour for literary purfuits. He 
wrote in 1744., at the requeft of prince Jufupof, a Biflerta- 
tion on the Trade of Siberia, compiled from authentic re¬ 
cords which he had collected during his travels ; bu£ the 
printing of this ufeful work was impeded by fo many ob- 
ftacles, that the firft part was not publilhed till 1750, and 
the continuation never made its appearance. In 1747 
Muller was appointed hifloriographer of the Ruffian em¬ 
pire, and in 1754 he was nominated by the prefident to 
be fecretary to the Academy of Sciences; by which means 
he acquired a fmall addition to his income. In confe- 
quence of the latter office, he conducted the extenlive 
foreign correlpondence of the academy, fuperintended the 
publication of the TranfaCtions, and exerted himfelf to 
promote the objeCt of the eftablilhment, by procuring men 
of talents to lupply the vacant places. In the year 1755 
be endeavoured to render himfelf ftill farther ufeful by 
publilhing in the Ruffian language, a work entitled Jef- 
chemefatjclima Lotfehinenia, or Monthly Ellays ; which 
contributed very much to the general difi'ufion of know¬ 
ledge in Ruflia, and in which he was affifted by feverai 
Ruffians of diftindtion who had a tafte for the fciences. 
In the year 1759 he corrected and improved that part of 
Bufching’s geography which relates to Ruffia ; and on 
this occaiion he collected much ufeful information in re¬ 
gard to Livonia and Elthonia, with a view of publilhing 
a topographical defeription of thefe countries; but this 
delign he never carried into execution. In 1763 he was 
appointed diredtor of the fchool for foundlings, eftablilhed 
by the emprefs Catharine at Mofcow; an office which he 
difeharged for fome time, much to his own credit and the 
fatisfaCtion of his fovereign; but in 1766 he was nomi¬ 
nated to a fituation more agreeable to his tafte and fa¬ 
vourable to Ills purfuits, that of keeper of the archives in 
that city, (now no more,) with an additional l'alary of icoo 
roubles. The remaining part of his life was fpent in li¬ 
terary labour^, to,which lie now entirely devoted himfelfj 
and, after being raifed to the rank of counfellor of ftate„ 
and invefted with the order of Wladimir, this learned and 
laborious man died, in the month of OCtober, 1783, in the 
feventy-ninth year of his age. 
Muller was of a robuft conftitution, and well-formed. 
He had a prepoffeffmg countenance, and in his conduct 
difplayed great fimplicity and goodnefs of heart. His pro- 
penftty to labour was fo exceedingly ftrong, that lie feldora 
went into company, being employed for the moft part at 
his delk, or in fome ufeful occupation. He wrote the 
German, Ruffian, French, and Latin, languages with un¬ 
common fluency ; and read the Englilh, Dutch, Swedilh, 
Danifli, and Greek, with great facility. His memory was 
furprifing, even at an advanced age; and his accurate ac¬ 
quaintance with the minuteft incidents of the Ruffian an¬ 
nals almoft furpafled belief. He pofl'efled moft of the 
books in the different languages of modern Europe which 
treat of Ruffia, ■with an invaluable colle&ion of ftate- 
3 A papers 
