Seemann, Berthold, 1825-1871

Biographical History

Berthold Seemann was a German botanist. He was born in Hanover, Germany, February 28, 1825. He trained in botany in Hanover before going to England and continuing his botanical studies at Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in 1844. With a recommendation from Sir W. J. Hooker, he was the botanist for the expedition of H. M. S. Herald (1845-1851). During the expedition, he collected along much of the western coast of North and South America. Seemann received a Ph.D. from University Göttingen. In from 1853- 1862, he published a botanical journal in Germany with his brother, W. E. G. Seemann called “Bonplandia”. In 1859, Seemann took part in another expedition to the Fiji Islands. In the 1860’s, Seemann returned to parts of Central and South America to study botany. Over the course of his career, Seemann wrote widely about his studies and travels, in English and German. He died October 10, 1871 after suffering several weeks of illness during travel in Nicaragua.

Source

• Nowicke, Joan W. (1970).“Type-Photographs of the Panamanian Collections of B. C. Seemann.” Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 57(3) 352-358. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2394713
• Trimen, Henry. (1872). “Berthold Seeman.” Journal of Botany, British and Foreign. Vol 10, pp. 1-7. Retrieved from http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/15787#/summary

Birth Date

1825

Death Date

1871

Topic

Botany

Form/Genre

Personal name

Occupation

Botanists