Vig Károly: Zoological Research in Western Hungary. A history (Szombathely, 2003)
Historical survey 17 data comes information on the fauna of Hungary, with relevance to the subject of this book. One volume is devoted to the fish of the Danube — De piscibus in aquis Danubii viventibus —another to its bird life —Aves aquaticae circa Danubium et Tibiscum viventes —and yet another to its plant life —Catalogus Plantarum circa Danubium. 33 Once the Turks had been expelled from Hungary, the advancing ideas of the early Enlightenment gave an impetus to scientific writing in the indigenous German and Hungarian languages. The politics and church policies in Hungary at the time hardly provided a stable background for the development of Protestant education, but the teaching work of several famous natural philosophers caused it to thrive as never before. The erudition in the country is apparent in the number of Hungarians who studied abroad in the 16th, 17th and even 18th centuries, mainly at Padua, Bologna and Wittenberg. One man who did so was JÁNOS ÁDÁM GENSEL 34 (GENSILI or occasionally GENSILIUS, 1677-1720), who was chief medical officer of the town of Sopron and known for his botanical work. He recorded the first regular measurements of atmospheric temperature and pressure, taken several times a day. He began these at the beginning of the 18th century, having probably inherited a mercury barometer and thermometer from ANDRÁS LOEW, for his observations seem to have begun after LOEW' s death. The last entry was made in December 1718. Only a fraction of GENSEL'S notes appeared in print, 35 mainly through the English physician ('med doc ac practici Londoniensis celleberini Opera Medica') THOMAS SYDENHAM (1624-1689), but most of his journals are thought to have been lost. 36 His scholarly career advanced well, however. He was elected to the German Academia Naturae Curiosum in 1712 and became a vice-president of it in 1719, 37 before his sudden death in August 31, 1720. 33 For detail, see HANÁK, J. 1849. Az állattan története és irodalma Magyarországban (History and Literature of Zoology in Hungary). Pest: Lukács és társa; BELICZAY, J. 1881. Marsigli élete és munkái (Marsigli's Life and Works). Budapest; GAÁL, I. 1930. Marsigli kutatásai hazánkban (Marsigli's researches in this country). Természettudományi Közlöny 62:593-603; UHERKOVICH, G. 1959. Marsigli hazánk egykori nagy kutatója (Marsigli, a great bygone researcher of this country). Jászkunság 5:128-31; KÁDÁR, Z., and Sz. PRISZTER 1992. Az élővilág megismerésének kezdetei hazánkban (Beginnings of Exploration of the Living World in Hungary). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. 34 SiNCERUS (SÁNDOR PAYR) 1925. Gensel (Gensili) János Ádám, a híres soproni orvos (JÁG [Gensili], the famous Sopron physician). Sopron megye July 19, 1925; NIKOLICS, K. 1989. Adatok Gensel János Ádám életművéhez (Notes on the life of JÁG). Soproni Szemle 43:276-8; GRÜLL, T. 1991. Gensel János Ádám könyvtárának maradéka (Remains of JÁG's library). Soproni Szemle 45:347-50. 35 GENSILI, J.A. 1717. Constitutio epidemica inferioris Hungáriáé, Anni 1717. cum históriás meteorologicis observationibus. Leipzig. 36 GENSEL, J.A. Constitutio epidemica inferioris Hungáriáé an. 1711, 1712, 1713. cum históriás et meteorologiás observationibus. In SYDENHAM, T. 1769. Vols I and II. Genevae (Geneva). 37 The portrait in the Sopron Pharmacy Museum, thought to have been painted by GÁBOR POST, bears an inscription reading 'Johannes Adamus Gensel Semproniensis Philosophiae et Medicináé Doctor Academiae Naturae Curiosum Collega Eques D. Marci Liberae Regiae Civitatis Semproniensis Ordinarius Certi Stipendii Pro Stúdiósa Juventute Semproniensi Fundator' (JÁG, citizen of Sopron, doctor of philosophy and medicine, member of the Academia Naturae Curiosum, chief medical officer of the Royal Free Borough of Sopron, founder of scholarships for the student youth of Sopron.)
