Forster, JOHANN REINHOLD

Forster, JOHANN REINHOLD, a German traveller and naturalist, was born in Dirschau, in Prussia, on 22d October 1729. He was educated at Halle and Danzig for the clerical profession, but his favourite studies were languages, botany, and zoology. Repairing to England in 1766, he acted for a few years as a teacher at Warrington in Lancashire, until he was appointed to accompany Cook as naturalist during his second voyage in 1772. On Forster's return his son published an account of the journey from Forster's own note-books, whilst Forster himself wrote Observations made during a Voyage round the World (1778), chiefly on physical geography and natural history. Two years afterwards he received the appointment of professor of Natural History at Halle, where he died on 9th December 1798. He wrote also a work on Mineralogy (1768), one on the Byssus of the Ancients (1770), Flora Americae Septentrionalis (1771), Zoologiæ Rarioris Specilegium (1781), an Account of the South Sea Plants (1776), and Geschichte der Entdeckungen und Schiffahrten im Norden (1784).—His eldest son, JOHANN GEORG ADAM, was born near Danzig, on 26th November 1754. When only seventeen years of age, he accompanied his father in Captain Cook's second voyage, and published, with the assistance of his father, an account of the expedition. After living as professor of Natural History at Cassel and at Wilna, he became librarian to the Elector of Mainz in 1788. Whilst he was on a visit at Paris in 1792, whither he had been sent to request the incorporation of Mainz with the French republic, the Prussians retook Mainz, and Forster lost all his property, including his books and manuscripts. He died at Paris, 12th January 1794. His writings, especially his Ansichten vom Niederrhein (1791-94) and his Beschreibung einer Reise um die Welt (1784), take a high rank amongst German works descriptive of nature. His Letters were published by his widow in 1829; and a complete edition of his works appeared in 9 vols. in 1843.