Giovanni Antonio Scopoli

Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (June 3, 1723 – May 8, 1788) was an Italian-Austrian, Tyrolean physician and naturalist.

Biography

Scopoli was born in Cavalese, in the Val di Fiemme; His father was a lawyer. He obtained his doctorate in medicine from the University of Innsbruck, practiced medicine in Cavalese and later in Venice. In this period he began to collect plants and insects from the Alpine area.

For two years he was the private secretary of the Count of Seckan and then he worked as a doctor to the miners in Idrija, a small town in Slovenia, remaining here for a period of seven years.

In 1761 he published De Hydroargyro Idriensi Tentamina, which dealt with the symptoms due to mercury poisoning caused by mining work.

Scopoli dedicated much of his time to the study of local Nature, publishing in 1760 the Flora Carniolica, an important work of entomology.

Another of his works was Anni Historical-Naturales (1769-72), which includes descriptions of new species of birds from various collections.

In 1769, Scopoli settled in Chemnitz as professor in charge of the Mining Academy, and in 1777, he moved to the University of Pavia. His last work was Deliciae Flora et Fauna Insubricae (1786-88), which included the scientific names of the birds and mammals described by Pierre Sonnerat in his travel notes..

Work

• De affectibus animi dissertatio physico-medica. Trient 1753

• Methodus plantarum 1754

• Flora Carniolica Scopoli, Antonio. 1760

• From Hydroargyro Idriensi Tentamine Scopoli, Antonio. 1761

• Tentamine physico-chymico-medica 1761

• Entomologia Carniolica Viienna: Trattner. 1763- a major work on entomology containing many descriptions of new species

• Annus I-V historico-naturalis. Hilscher, Leipzig 1768–72. (Enthält Erstbeschreibungen von Tierarten für heute noch gültige wissenschaftliche Namen)

• Einleitung zur Kenntniß und Gebrauch der Foßilien. Für die Studirenden. Verlag Johann Friedrich Hartknochs, Riga und Mietau 1769. (eine frühe Systematik der Minerale und Gesteine)

• Joh. Ant. Scopoli der Arzneywissenschaft Doktors, Ihro... Majest. Cameralphysici in der Bergstadt Idria... Einleitung zur Kenntniß und Gebrauch der Foßilien, Hartknoch4031 Göttingen: Niedersächsische Staats- und UniversitätsbibliothekRiga (1769). In German. Doctoral thesis.
• Bemerkungen aus der Naturgeschichte. Leipzig 1770
• Abhandlung vom Kohlenbrennen. Vienna 1771
• From Hydrargyro Idriensi tentamine physico-chymico-medica. Jena, Leipzig 1771
• Preis-Schrift über die Frage von den Ursachen des Mangels an Dünger in Görtz und Gradiska. Vienna 1771

• Anni Historic-Natural Scopoli, Antonio. 1769-1772

• Dissertations ad scientiam naturalem pertinent. Gerle, Prague 1772

• Principia mineralogiæ systematicæ et practicæ succincte exhibitionentia structuram telluris. Gerle, Prague 1772

• Flora Carniolica exhibits plants Carnioliae indigenas et distributas in classes, genera, species, varietates, ordine Linnaeano 1772. Second revised edition of the first elaborate description of the flora of Krain, Austria, made when Scopoli lived in Idrija. It has 66 plates recorded by J.F. Rein after the original drawings by Scopoli. The first unexplored edition of 1760 of 600 pp. does not reproduce the binary names of the species, this edition already has binary names and written in the linneana tradition

• Crystallographia Hungarica. Gerle, Prague 1776

• Introductio ad historiam naturalem, sistens generates lapidum, plantarum et animalium hactenus detects, characteristics essentialibus donata, in tribes currency, subinde ad leges naturae. Prague 1777 – masterpiece of Natural History describing world genres and species

• Fundamenta chemicae praelectionibus publicis accomodata. Gerle, Prague 1777

• Introductio ad historiam naturalem. Gerle, Prague 1777

• Principi di mineralogia. Venedig 1778

• Fundamenta Botanica Praelectionibus publicis accomodata. Papiae, S. Salvatoris (1783)- A classic botanical with ten plates recorded and each with ten to sixteen exact illustrations

• With Pierre Joseph Macquer, Dizionario di chimica del Sig. Pietro Giuseppe Macquer...Tradotto dal francese e corredato di note e di nuovi articoli... Pavia: printed in the Monastery of San Salvatore by G. Bianchi (1783-84) - The chemist Joseph Macquer and his "Dictionnaire de chymie", the first dictionary of theoretical and general chemistry, written affecting his reputation, so Macquer publishes it anonymously in 1766. Its profound events promoted the preparation of a second edition (1778). And then Scopoli translated and increased it extensively. The second edition of the workc translated, without subsequent additions is published in Venice in 1784-85

• Anfangsgründe der Metallurgie. Moeßle, Schwan " Götz, Vienna, Mannheim 1786-89

• Deliciae Flora et Fauna Insubricae Scopoli, Antonio. 1786-1788

• Elementi di chimica e di pharmacy. Pavia 1786

• Physikalisch-chemische Abhandlung vom Idrianischen Quecksilber und Vitriol. Lindauer, Munich 1786

• Abhandlung von den Bienen und ihrer Pflege. Vienna 1787 (Übersetzt von Karl Meidinger)

• Rudimenta metallurgiae 1789

Honors

Eponymy

• Alkaloids: scopolamine

Gender

• (Bixaceae) Scopolia Lam.

• (Brassicaceae) Scopolia Adans.

• (Griseliniaceae) Scopolia J.R.Forst. " G.Forst.

• (Rutaceae) Scopolia Sm.

• (Solanaceae) Scopolia Jacq.

• (Thymelaeaceae) Scopolia L.f.

Abbreviation (zoology)

The abbreviation Scopoli is used to indicate Giovanni Antonio Scopoli as an authority on description and taxonomy in zoology.