Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin

Who was Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin?

Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin or Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany.

He was born in Leiden in the Netherlands; he studied medicine at Leiden University, but later moved first to Paris and then Vienna.

Between 1755 and 1759, Nikolaus von Jacquin was sent to the West Indies and Central America by Francis I to collect plants for the Schönbrunn Palace, and amassed a large collection of animal, plant and mineral samples.

In 1763, Nikolaus von Jacquin became Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy in Schemnitz. In 1768, he was appointed Professor of Botany and Chemistry and became director of the botanical gardens of the University of Vienna. For his work, he was knighted in 1774. In 1783, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1806, he was made baron.

His younger son, Emil Gottfried, and his daughter, Franziska, were friends of Mozart; Mozart wrote two songs for Gottfried to publish under Gottfried's name and gave piano lessons to Franziska. Mozart dedicated a considerable number of his works to the Jacquin family, notably the Kegelstatt Trio.