1516-1565

Swiss naturalist who is considered one of the pioneers of modern animal description. Gesner's Historiae Animalium (Animal History) of 1551-54 is commonly regarded as the basis of modern zoology. Unlike many of his contemporaries, von Gesner supplemented knowledge of the natural world taken from antiquity with his own biological research. Furthermore, his texts are characterized by a reliance on illustrations in order to aid students: his Opera Botanica (Botanical Works) featured close to 1,500 plates of his own composition.