Jan Commelin

Botanist, Deceased Person

1629 – 1692

 Credit ยป
86

Who was Jan Commelin?

Jan Commelin, also known as Jan Commelijn or Johannes Commelinus, was the son of Isaac Commelin a historian; his brother Casparus was a bookseller and newspaper publisher. Jan a botanist became a professor of botany when many plants were imported from the Cape and Ceylon and a new system had to be developed. As alderman of the city, together with burgomaster Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen he led the arrangement of the new botanic garden, Hortus Medicus later becoming Hortus Botanicus. He cultivated exotic plants on his farm 'Zuyderhout' near Haarlem. Commelin amassed a fortune by selling herbs and drugs to apothecaries and hospitals in Amsterdam and other Dutch cities.

Commelin did a great deal of the work in publishing Hortus malabaricus of Rheede, and Nederlandse Flora published in 1683 as well as contributing commentaries to the second and third volumes. He also prepared for publication "Horti Medici Amstelodamensis Rariorum" which appeared in 1697 and dealt mainly with plants from the East and West Indies, and was illustrated mainly by Jan Moninckx and his daughter Maria Moninckx.

His nephew Caspar Commelin became the director of the Amsterdam botanic garden after Pieter Hotton left. Caspar finished the work of his uncle and had it published with the help of Frederik Ruysch.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
Apr 23, 1629
Leiden
Parents
Nationality
  • Netherlands
Profession
Died
Jan 19, 1692
Amsterdam

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Jan Commelin." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/jan_commelin>.

Discuss this Jan Commelin biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net