Johannes Burman

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Johannes Burman (26 April 1707 Amsterdam - 20 February 1780), was a Dutch botanist and physician.

Johannes Burman was the eldest son of the theologian Frans Burman (1671-1719) and his wife Elizabeth Thierens. His brother was the theologian Frans Burman (1708-1793). He started his studies in Leiden in 1722 under Herman Boerhaave, and qualified in 1728 as a doctor of medicine, after which he practised in Amsterdam. After the death of Frederik Ruysch he was appointed Professor of Botany in Amsterdam.

Carl von Linné visited him in 1735 on a trip to Holland, carrying a letter of recommendation from Herman Boerhaave. Burman was impressed by the young man and offered him accommodation in his home, which Linné accepted. He was later commemorated by Linné in the genus Burmannia and family Burmanniaceae. The standard author abbreviation Burm. is applied to species he described.

Johannes Burman was married to Adriana van Buuren. Their son Nicolaas Laurens Burman was also a botanist and studied under Linné in Uppsala.

Partial list of publications

• Thesaurus zeylanicus, exhibens plantas in insula Zeylana nascentes (Amsterdam, 1737).
• Rariorum Africanarum plantarum (Amsterdam, deux parties, 1738-1739).
• Herbarium Amboinense, plurimas complectens arbores, frutices, herbas..., réédition de l’herbier de Georg Eberhard Rumphius (1628-1702) (Amsterdam, six volumes, 1741-1750).
• Plantarum Americanarum fasciculus primus (Amsterdam, 1755-1760).
• Auctuarium (1755).
• Vacendorfia (1757).
• De ferrariae charactere (1757).
• Flora malabarici (1769).