Johann Friedrich von Brandt

1802 - 1879

country of citizenship: Kingdom of Prussia, Russian Empire

languages spoken, written or signed: Latin, German

educated at: Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Halle-Wittenberg

occupation: biologist, ornithologist, zoologist, academic, botanist, naturalist, entomologist, university teacher, carcinologist, ichthyologist, physician

award received: Order of Saint Anna, 1st class, Order of Saint Anna, 2nd class, Order of the White Eagle, Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st class, Order of Saint Stanislaus, 2nd class, Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class, Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class, Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class

Johann Friedrich von Brandt (25 May 1802 – 15 July 1879) was a German-Russian naturalist, who worked mostly in Russia. Brandt was born in Jüterbog and educated at a gymnasium in Wittenberg and the University of Berlin. In 1831 he emigrated to Russia, and soon was appointed director of the Zoological Museum of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Brandt encouraged the collection of native animals, many of which were not represented in the museum. Many specimens began to arrive from the expeditions of Severtzov, Przhevalsky, Middendorff, Schrenck and Gustav Radde. He described several birds collected by Russian explorers off the Pacific Coast of North America, including Brandt's cormorant, red-legged kittiwake and spectacled eider. As a paleontologist, Brandt ranks among the best. He was also an entomologist, specialising in Coleoptera (beetles) and Diplopoda (millipedes). He died in Merreküll, Governorate of Estonia. He is also commemorated in Brandt's bat, Brandt's hedgehog, three other species of mammals, and the lizard Iranolacerta brandtii. Source: Wikipedia (en)