The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Swammerdam, Johannes

SWAMMERDAM, Johannes, a Dutch entomologist, born in Amsterdam in 1637, died about 1680. He studied medicine with his father and at the university of Leyden. He gave considerable attention to the natural history of insects, and made many dissections and microscopical examinations and a large collection of specimens. He obtained leave at Amsterdam to dissect the bodies of those who died in the hospital, and invented the mode for the preparation of hollow organs now usually employed in anatomy. He published a “General History of Insects” (1669), “The Natural History of Bees” (1673), a “History of the Ephemeras” (1675), and other works. His entomological collection was divided at his death and sold in small portions. Boerhaave edited his works and wrote his life. An English translation of his entomological works by T. Floyd was published in 1758.