Johann Reinhold Forster

Johann Reinhold Forster (22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German Reformed pastor and naturalist. Born in Dirschau, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Tczew, Poland), he attended school in Dirschau and Marienwerder before being admitted at the Joachimsthalsches Gymnasium in Berlin in 1745. Skilled in classical and biblical languages, he studied theology at the University of Halle. In 1753, he became a parson at a parish just south of Danzig. He married his cousin Justina Elisabeth Nicolai in 1754, and they had seven surviving children; the oldest child was George Forster, also known as Georg.

In 1765, Forster was commissioned by the Russian government to inspect the new colonies on the Volga. Accompanied by George on the journey, he observed the conditions of the colonists and made scientific observations that were later read at the Russian Academy of Sciences. After making a report that was critical of the Russian administration, Forster left for England without payment in 1766. In England, Forster became the successor of Joseph Priestley as tutor in modern languages and natural history at Warrington Academy where he worked for two years. He made contact with many other naturalists, published a textbook on mineralogy and translated works of the apostles of Linnaeus into English. Invited by Alexander Dalrymple, Forster moved to London in 1770 in preparation for participation in an East India Company expedition, but the plans fell through and Forster continued to publish translations as well as scientific works including contributions to North American zoology and botany. In February 1772, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

After the withdrawal of Joseph Banks from the second voyage of James Cook, Forster accepted the position of naturalist on board of Cook's ship, where he was accompanied by his son George as draughtsman and assistant. On their three-year journey, they made the first recorded crossing of the Antarctic Circle and made observations and discoveries in New Zealand and Polynesia. When they had returned to England, Forster published the botanical work ''Characteres generum plantarum''. However, there was disagreement with Cook on who should write a narrative of the journey. After a lengthy argument, George wrote ''A Voyage Round the World'', which appeared six weeks before Cook's work and Forster published his scientific ''Observations Made During a Voyage Round the World'' separately. As he had fallen out with many powerful men in England and was in debt, he turned to Germany where he was professor at the University of Halle from 1780. He oversaw the botanical garden for a few years and published in a wide range of sciences. Forster died in 1798 and is buried in Halle. Provided by Wikipedia