Friedrich Adam Julius von Wangenheim

Friedrich Adam Julius von Wangenheim (February 8, 1749 Sonneborn – March 25, 1800 Gumbinnen) was a German botanist specializing in forestry, and was the citing authority for a number of described eastern North American plant species. He was also a Hessian soldier, and during his service in the thirteen colonies devoted his leisure time to botanical studies of American forests. When he returned to Prussia, he wrote up his research and strongly advocated importing suitable American species of trees and shrubs for use in German forests.

He received his education at Waltershausen, and in 1766 entered the service of the Duke of Coburg as lieutenant. He later entered the Prussian army and attained the rank of captain. He came to the United States in 1777 in the Hessian contingent in the British service, served with the Hesse-Kassel Feld Jaegerkorps in New York and Pennsylvania 1778-1783, and won a reputation for his successful raids. He participated in the battles of Brandywine and Charleston. On his return to Germany he was given the cross of the Hessian military order, and later re-entered the Prussian service.

While in North America, he had studied the natural history of the country, especially the trees and shrubs. In 1785, he wrote a memoir to the Berlin Academy showing the immense advantages that would be derived from the naturalization of several species of American trees. On request of the academy, he was then sent to Gumbinnen as director general of the waters and forests of eastern Prussia, where he carried on experiments on a large scale and planted a great number of American trees.

He also published several memoirs in the Transactions of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.

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