Dr. Alfredo Jahn Hartmann | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1867-10-08)8 October 1867 |
| Died | 12 July 1940(1940-07-12) (aged 72) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Civil engineering,botany andgeography |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Al.Jahn |
Dr. Alfredo Jahn Hartman (8 October 1867 – 12 July 1940) was aVenezuelancivil engineer,botanist andgeographer. Jahn was a member of the Academy of History, the Academy of Physical Sciences,Mathematics and Naturalist of Venezuela and the Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences and achieved theOrder of the Liberator. He was also anexplorer andmountain climber. There is a large cave named after Jahn, "Cueva Alfredo Jahn"[1] (The Alfredo Jahn cave). In 1911 he became the first person toascendPico Humboldt in theSierra Nevada de Mérida in Venezuela.[2]
Alfredo Jahn was the son of Friedrich Gottfried Alfred Jahn Wassmann, born in Caracas on 10 June 1846, and Eugenia Hartmann, born inBremen, Germany on 8 July 1847. In 1876 he was taken toHanover, Germany, and entered the Secondary School of the locality. He continued studies atTorgau, Saxony province, where he received military training. In 1882 he went to Berlin to continue his education for a short time, returning again to the Hannover School of Engineering.For family reasons he was forced to return to Caracas, where he continued studies at theUniversidad Central de Venezuela, where he majored innatural sciences under the leadership ofAdolf Ernst.
On 25 July 1891 he married Aurelia Lopez. They had a total of 10 children.
Jahn finished his studies at the end of 1886, and became an assistant engineer on railway construction. The following year, he participated in the preliminary studies for the construction of a major railroad between Caracas andValencia with extension toSan Carlos. He worked with civil engineer and lawyer German Jimenez in the National Plan of Highways and Railroads ofVenezuela by order of the National Government. He was responsible for the construction of the railroad fromCaracas toValencia. He also built the highway from Caracas toEl Junquito.
In 1887 he accompanied the Venezuelan chemist Vicente Marcano on a scientific expedition to the upperOrinoco river, sent by PresidentAntonio Guzmán Blanco. The trip provided geographical positions and a collection of plants andarchaeological objects found today in the US and Germany. He was in charge of the geographical and botanical part, which began the work of measuring and triangulation of the mountain ranges and sites and cities between Valencia and Caracas. He also carried out the topographic survey of the Lake Valencia basin and several scientific expeditions to the western region of Venezuela.1
Jahn combined his work as ageographer with his work in botany, as both required scientific work through extensive exploration. He completed measurements and triangulations of theVenezuelan Coastal Range and various sites and cities between Valencia and Caracas. He also carried out a topographic survey of theLake Valenciadrainage basin. He lived with theOrinoco Indians of the West of Venezuela and wrote books on their customs and dialects. As abotanist he classified many plants in Venezuela, donated botanical samples to theSmithsonian Institution, and wrote a book on thePalms of Venezuela (the Palms of the Flora Venezuelana – Caracas 1908).
He was a founding member of the Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences, and served as its president in 1935 and 1937.[3] He received an honorary doctorate from theUniversity of Hamburg, and the Medal of theBerlin Geographical Society.[3] He received theOrder of the Liberator.[3] The Alfredo Jahn Cave inMiranda is named for him; it is the sixth largest in the country.[4]
The following species of plants are named after him:
Jahn wrote 41 works between scientific books and pamphlets, and 52 articles for newspapers and magazines, including:
As ofthis edit, this article uses content from"The History of Alfredo Jahn", which is licensed in a way that permits reuse under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, but not under theGFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.
