A Short Biography of Pieter Bleeker
2007; Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum; Volume: 2007; Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0217-2445
Autores Tópico(s)Ichthyology and Marine Biology
ResumoPieter Bleeker rose from humble beginnings to become one of the greatest ichthyologists and the most prolific in the IndoPacific. Born in 1819, in a small town just North of Amsterdam, his middle-class family could not afford a higher education for him past the age of 12. However, thanks to an early friendship with a pharmacist who lived in a part of his parental home, he managed to continue his education and became certified, first as a pharmacist and by the age of 22, as a civic surgeon and country doctor. Later in his education, he became more interested in physiology and zoology. He read widely about these subjects in the library of the Museum in Haarlem. He believed that his youthful appearance would preclude him from practising as a physician and since he was feeling more inclined towards natural history than medicine, he applied for a job at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden. After he was told there was no vacancy, he decided to continue his medical studies in Paris for as long as his funds would allow. When he returned after six months, he tried once more in vain to get a job at the Leiden Museum. He then decided to become a medical officer in the East Indian Army as he was still not inclined to settle down as a practising physician.
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