Thaddäus Haenke

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Thaddäus Haenke, by Vinzenz Raimund Grüner (1771 Prague - 1832 Vienna)[1]
Thaddäus Haenke, by Vinzenz Raimund Grüner (1771 Prague - 1832 Vienna)[1]
Memorial plaque of 1885 at his birthplace, in German, with plaque in Czech added in the 1960s
Memorial plaque of 1885 at his birthplace, in German, with plaque in Czech added in the 1960s

Thaddäus Xaverius Peregrinus Haenke (Czech: Tadeáš Haenke; Spanish: Tadeo Haenke; 6 December 1761 – 14 November 1816) was a geographer and explorer in South America.

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[edit] Biography

Haenke was born in Kreibitz (Chřibská), Bohemia, Austrian Empire (today Czech Republic). In 1789, he went to join Alessandro Malaspina and his expedition, but he missed the boat in Cádiz by two hours after travelling from Vienna by France in the eve of the French Revolution. He took another ship to Argentina which capsized at the mouth of Rio de la Plata. After crossing the Andes he arrived in Santiago de Chile on 2 April 1790 and met the Malaspina Expedition. The journey around the world lasted another three years during which the physician, botanist, chemist, and geographer collected several thousand plants.

Afterwards Haenke returned to South America and visited the continent from 1793 to 1810. Napoleon's continental system embargo of 1806 prevented him from returning to Europe and publishing there; instead he ultimately stayed in South America and married. Haenke, who is seen as one of the great ethnological progenitors of Alexander von Humboldt, introduced modern methods to many scientific areas or further developed existing ones.

Haenke's work in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile finally contributed to the creation of the smallpox vaccine. During his expedition through the Atacama desert, he discovered a method for transforming Chile salpeter and Potassium chloride into Potassium nitrate. Furthermore, he improved explosives and gun powder, giving his results to the Spanish army.

He was the first European to discover the largest water lily Victoria amazonica (in 1801 [2]) and advocated the medicinal benefit of hot springs.

At age 54 Haenke died in Cochabamba, Bolivia, under unknown circumstances.

The Canadian Haenke Island and the Juncus haenkei plants were named after him.

[edit] Work

  • Carl Bořivoj Presl Reliquiae Haenkeanae : seu descriptiones et icones plantarum, quas in America meridionali et boreali, in insulis Philippinis et Marianis collegit Thaddaeus Haenke. J.G. Calve, Prague, 1830.Botanicus

[edit] References

  • Kühnel, Josef: Thaddäus Haenke: Leben und Wirken eines Forschers. – Munich: Lerche, 1960 (German)
  • Markstein, Heinz: Der sanfte Konquistador: die Geschichte des Thaddäus Xaverius Peregrinus Haenke. – Stuttgart: Publ. Freies Geistesleben, 1991. – ISBN 3-7725-1118-X (German)

[edit] External links

The standard author abbreviation Haenke is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing a botanical name.[1]
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