| Daniil Gotlib Messerschmidt (16851735) |
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Daniil Gotlib Messerschmidt - well-known German scientific (the doctor of medicine and natural sciences) was born in 1685 in Dancing. Events of 1716 when Great Peter during war with Swedes has taken storm native city of the scientist, have turned Daniel Messerschmidta's life. Peter has not ruined city, and with the big interest got acquainted with its riches. The huge impression on Russian tsar was made with natural-science museum of Dancing. In detail having familiarized with its collection, Peter has decided to create a similar museum in Russia and has asked the director of a museum I.F.Brejn to recommend to him for these purposes of the scientist. Brejn has recommended for work in Russia the friend D.G.Messerschmidt.
In September, 1717 Russian tsar has invited Messerschmidt to service for research of natural riches of Russia. To the scientist the salary in 500 roubles per one year with an opportunity further was determined become the manager of a museum. In November of the same year Peter in decree send Messerschmidt to Siberia "with the purpose... Researches of any curiosities and pharmaceutical things, grasses, colors, roots and seeds...". Unexpectedly doctor Araskin, lejb-physician Peter I, the patron of Messerschmidt in Russia dies. His place was borrowed with L.D.Bljumentrost who has headed Library and Kunstkamera, and his brother was appointed "President of Medical office" and "all Medical faculty". Thus, Messerschmidt the post of the director of a museum should refuse to hold from hope. He began to gather in expedition to Siberia. In March, 1719 he has left St. Petersburg to Moscow, that with embassy L.V. Izmailov which went to China to continue the way to novel areas. The route of travel Messerschmidt was rather difficult: areas of the Western and Central Siberia, since Tobolsk and finishing in Mangazei (a mouth of Lower Tunguska). Also it was supposed to survey Transbaikalia and northern areas of Mongolia. Messerschmidt not only described met by him for a way monuments of an antiquity, dwelling and clothes of various peoples, plants, animals, minerals, but also sketched them. He anatomized animals and birds, produced their scarecrows, drew maps, carried out geographical measurements and daily conducted the most detailed diary, input in it all made for day. In work he was helped his servant Peter Krants, by Russian boys, and also captured Swedes, especially F.I.Stralenberg. Having stayed one and a half year in Tobolsk, Messerschmidt has made the catalogue of plants, has collected the big collection of insects and birds, samples of minerals. He has sent all this to St. Petersburg. Great Peter even has sent figures of Messerschmidt and descriptions of birds together with a new map of Caspian sea to the Parisian academy of sciences. The French scientists highly have estimated ornithological descriptions of Messerschmidt and have declared, that would like to receive so careful descriptions of other Russian provinces. Five months Messerschmidt travelled in a southeast part of Krasnoyarsk Region, in a high part of Yenisei, Abakan and their inflows, overcoming on rafts and boats the rough rivers, making the way through woods and bogs where there was such quantity of mosquitoes and midges, that simply was not visible white light. Thus the richest collections and set of the most interesting data were collected. During expedition by the scientist frequently there were most ancient monuments of a history - stone columns in height in two and a half of human growth and stone plates on which figures of animals were hollowed. In the beginning of October, 1722, Messerschmidt has arrived to Krasnoyarsk where he had to winter. In winter months he carefully processed the collected data, produced scarecrows of animals and birds, made collections of insects. Here, in Krasnoyarsk, he anatomized, has described and has sketched ugly the young cow with two heads and three legs. In the summer of next year Messerschmidt has gone downwards over Yenisei in Mangazei (near to present town Turukhansk). He has refused initial plan to go from here to a coast of Arctic ocean because of extreme complexity of similar travel, you see his health was not powerful. In result, the researcher from Mangazei has gone on Lower Tunguska upwards on Lena up to Irkutsk. The campaign on Lower Tunguska has borrowed about three months. In "Diary" Messerschmidt marked not only natural features and riches of Siberia. He informed customs and customs of natives, has written down set of their words. He the first has described appearance, customs and a life of nomadic Tungus (evenks). Tungus held deers and dogs, lived fishing and hunting, were extraordinary dexterous and neat arrows from onions. Descriptions feathery, found on coast of Lower Tunguska, have made two volumes of compositions on ornithology Messerschmidt. Except for that he has made the description of the lamb with anatomic details of its structure, has briefly described a bear, a glutton, northern deer, the fox, a sable, to fiber. Interests and supervision of the scientist were extremely versatile and various. On coast of the river Ingoda he managed to make the original opening concerning cancers. He has unexpectedly found out fine and smooth river cancers about which nothing local residents knew even. The scientist has given their bright description in "Diary". And some pieces have dried and have sent to St. Petersburg. Later the river Ingoda began to be glorified by the cancers. This opening was very important as some scientists, including V.N.Tatishchev, asserted, that between an environment of spaces of Western Siberia and territories up to the Ural mountains there are sharp differences; one of proofs of that was ostensibly full absence of cancers behind the Ural ridge. Find Messerschmidt was the first in Siberia. The scientist has described for the first time the Buryats met by him, their customs, clothes, appearance, has made the list of the Buryat words. It is interesting, that Buryats named various names of 35 kinds of animals, including the house mouse, fiber and so forth. In area Argunsks obtaining sulfur a factory on the river Borzja, Messerschmidt has stayed week. Here was found before a unknown kind mammal - djegitai (kulan). "Round-up" on unknown hoofs animal was organized and three individuals are killed. The scientist has sketched animals, has made their measurements and opening. He has noted difference of a kind open by it mammal from the horse and a donkey, having named it "the prolific mule". The scarecrow of this animal was named " Gift of Izida " and delivered in Kunstkamera where unfortunately was lost. Lost there was also a detailed description of an animal, was kept only its brief characteristic. For manufacturing scarecrows mammal and birds Messerschmidt has invented "dry balm", to protect skins from rotting. The structure of a powder included cooking, lake and mountain salt; tobacco, pepper and flowers of a lavender. With received mix Messerschmidt rubred an internal surface skins, strewed bodies birds and fine animals. Then the prepared biological material in the camel or sheep wool turned and placed in separate boxes, itself sealed them and on a cover did a necessary inscription. During travel by him was completed 58 boxes with a zoological material. To the scientist has had the luck to find and remains of mammoths. For the first time he has seen bones of the mammoth in 1720 in Tobolsk, carefully has sketched them and figures has sent in Medical office. In 1722 Messerschmidt has sent two teeth of the mammoth to the friend and the teacher to professor I.F.Brejnu. And in 1927 he investigates the mammoth who has been found out on coast of Indigirka. Messerschmidt has given the detailed description and sketches of a head, a teeth, tusks, bones of legs of an animal. These bones became one of the first exhibits Petersburg Kunstkamera. In 1730, Messerschmidt has transferred a part of the sketches of I.F.Brejnu which has informed about these finds to the President of the London Royal society Hans Sloanu. In some decades on these figures, it is especial on the image jaws the mammoth, Z.Kjuv'e, the first scientist who challenged various ridiculous theories about an origin of mammoths and shaggy rhinoceroses in Siberia has paid attention. Up to him in the scientific world the opinion dominated, that corpses of these animals were brought to Siberia from the south during a Flood, and kept there due to a permafrost. Kjuv'e the first has specified a difference between nowadays living elephants and rhinoceroses and their dyed out Siberian relatives. Collected Messerschmidt zoological, botanical and ethnographic collections were huge. Academician Gerrard Fridrih Miller, the secretary of the academic commission accepting brought collections, ascertained, that the quantity of the collected materials "has surpassed any expectations". Zoological collections Messerschmidt were the first essential contribution to an exposition Russian Kunstkamera. Unfortunately, much of these collections were lost during fires Kunstkamera in 1747 and 1874 18 volumes of ornithological works Messerschmidt and in 10 volumes of reports " the Review of Siberia or three tables of simple empires of a nature ", containing data on a history, ethnographies, geography, economy, to flora and fauna were not issued, but were widely used by all naturalists XVIII in., studying fauna of Siberia. I.G.Gmelin, G.V.Steller, P.S. Pallas and many other scientists at drawing up of routes of the expeditions used experience of Messerschmidt, is directed prospected the animals marked by the scientist. His expedition has collected extensive and valuable data about weather conditions of Siberia. In a travelling diary the data on weather, force and a direction of a wind, fluctuations of temperature daily were brought. Messerschmidt together with Strahlenberg, constantly defined breadth and a longitude of district. This the first in a history of Siberia definition of astronomical position. Were fond of cartography Strahlenberg at the same time has made the first on a mathematical basis a map of pool of Yenisei. It is interesting, that Georg Vilgelm Steller before the travel to Siberia has met in St. Petersburg with Messerschmidt and that has told to him about set of difficulties to which expedition to these territories will be connected. In some months after that acquaintances Messerschmidt has died. There was it in 1735. To the scientist there were only 50 years. In 1964-66 German scientists have prepared the edition of travelling diaries "Messerschmidt D.G. Forschungsreise durch Sibirien. 1720-1727". |
