Biohistoricum, Bonn

Preservation of the estates of important biologists

The research archive on the history of biology houses more than 50,000 works from the fields of natural history, zoology and botany as well as extensive archival material. Enquiries come from universities, museums, the media and private individuals from Germany and abroad. They concern the transcription of manuscripts, the search for specific estates and co-operation in the field of art history. Here it is above all the biohistorical and entomological expertise on artists such as Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) and Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750).

Correspondence, diaries, books and magazines

Correspondence from the 19th century, such as letters from the biologist Fritz Müller (1822-1897), who emigrated to southern Brazil in 1852, are particularly in demand. Drawings by the African researcher Georg Schweinfurth (1836-1925) on the landscapes and animals of Central Africa also invite us to analyse biodiversity change. He was closely associated with Alexander Koenig. A rich fund of zoological and botanical documents from the Rhineland can be found in the archive of the Natural History Society of the Rhineland and Westphalia (NHV), which is also kept in the Biohistoricum.