Martin Lichtenstein

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Martin Heinrich Carl Lichtenstein (January 10, 1780 - September 2, 1857) was a German physician, explorer and zoologist. He was the son of Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein. He died after a duel fought at sea off Kiel.

Lichtenstein was born in Hamburg and studied medicine at Jena and Helmstedt. Between 1802 and 1806 he travelled in southern Africa, becoming the personal physician of the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1810 he published Reisen im südlichen Afrika. He was awarded the Chair of Zoology at the University of Berlin in 1811, and appointed Director of the Berlin Zoological Museum in 1813.

[edit] Legacy

Lichtenstein was responsible for the creation of Berlin's Zoological Gardens in 1841, when he persuaded King Frederick William IV of Prussia to donate the grounds of his pheasantry.

Among species named by Lichtenstein include the Australian King Parrot (Alisterus scapularis).