BAUHIN, John, a distinguished botanist, was born at Lyons in the year 1541. He was the son of an eminent physician, who quitted France, his native country, on account of religion, and settled at Basel. In early life he travelled with Gesner, the celebrated naturalist, and collected plants in the Alps, in France, and in Italy, for the purpose of the great botanical work which he afterwards accomplished. He first practised medicine at Basel, where he was also elected professor of rhetoric in 1566. He then resided for some time at Yverdun, and was afterwards invited to be physician to the duke of Wirtemberg at Montbelliard; a situation in which he spent the remaining forty years of his life. He devoted his time chiefly to botany, on which he bestowed great labour, comparing authors, ancient and modern, with one another, and with nature, and collecting information from all quarters. He likewise prosecuted other branches of natural history, and published an account of Medicinal Waters throughout Europe, especially in the duchy of Wirtemberg; together with a particular account of the mineral spring of Boll, and the natural history of the place. His great work on plants was not completed at his death, which happened in 1613. A society at Yverdun published in 1619 the Prodromus; but it was not till 1650 and 1651 that the work itself appeared, in three vols. folio, entitled Historia Plantarum nova et absolutissima, cum Auctorum consensu et dissensu circa eas. This performance, with all its defects, has been pronounced by Haller to be without an equal. The plants are numerous, generally well described and discriminated; and many new species are added. It is still considered a standard work; and the names of John Bauhin and his brother rank high among the founders and first promoters of botanical science.

Bauhin, Gaspard, brother of the former, was born in 1560. He was early devoted to physic, and pursued his studies at Padua, Montpellier, and some of the celebrated schools in Germany. In his journeys he collected a number of plants which had escaped his brother’s notice. Returning to Basel in 1580, he was admitted to the degree of doctor, and gave private lectures in botany and anatomy. In 1582 he was appointed to the Greek professorship in that university, and in 1588 to the anatomical and botanical chairs. He was at last made city physician, professor of the practice of medicine, rector of the university, and dean of his faculty; and, thus distinguished and honoured, he acquired great reputation. He became eminent as a botanist, and was aided in his researches by the contributions of his disciples and friends in various parts of Europe. Haller gives him the character of being assiduous and laborious in collecting plants, by which means he surpassed his brother in the number of them, as he also did in the accuracy of his figures; but he possessed less acuteness of judgment in distinguishing varieties, and in detecting the same species under different names. He published several works relative to botany, of which the most valuable is his Pinax Theatri Dotanicn, seu index in Theophrasti, Dioscoridis, Plinii, et botanicoum qui a se-culo scripserunt opera, plantarum fere sex millium nomina, eum synonymiis et differentiis. Opus XIV. annorum, 4to. The confusion that began to arise at this time from the number of botanical writers who described the same plant under different names, rendered such a task as this highly necessary; and though there are many defects in the execution, the Pinax of Bauhin is still a useful key to all the writers before his time. Another great work which he planned was a Theatrum Dotanicum i meant to be comprised in twelve parts folio, of which he finished three, but only one was published. He also gave a very copious catalogue of the plants growing in the environs of Baseland he edited the works of Matthiolus with considerable’ additions. Gaspard likewise wrote some works on anatomy which he studied under Hieronymus ab Aquapendente and pursued with vigour during his youth. His principal work on this subject is Theatrum Anatomicum infiniii s l 0c ι s auctum, 4to, Frankf. 1621; which is a kind of pinax of anatomical facts and opinions. He also published a collection of anatomical plates. He died in 1624.