Valerius Cordus

Valerius Cordus (1515--1544)，文藝復興時期有一位植物學家和藥劑師。他於1515年出生於德國，1544年病逝於意大利羅馬，年僅29歲。雖然Valerius Cordus的生命如此短暫，但他是西方植物學史和醫學史上的一位著名學者。Valerius Cordus在德國植物學發展歷史上具有重要地位。

       Valerius Cordus的父亲Euricius Cordus (1486--1535)是一名学者—诗人、医生和植物学家。Euricius Cordus 对于德国现代植物学的早期发展具有重要影响。Valerius Cordus跟随父亲植物学和制药。Valerius Cordus先后到Marburg 大学(Philipp University of Marburg--Philipps-Universität Marburg)、莱比锡大学(University of Leipzig)和Wittenberg大学(University of Wittenberg) 求学。Valerius Cordus在病逝前的4—5年里主要供职于Wittenberg大学。

      Valerius Cordus去世后，他的手稿（讲稿）主要由瑞士博物学家、文献编纂家Conrad Gessner (1516--1565)编辑和出版。

      Valerius Cordus(1515--1544)的科学贡献主要有两大方面：

      第一，在医学上的杰出贡献是1540年发现了麻醉乙醚(ether vs anesthesiology)[注：现在的中国人热衷于诺贝尔奖的点评和解读。如果Valerius Cordus还活着，这项工作可以获诺贝尔奖吧]；

      第二，在植物学的杰出贡献是对植物外部形态分类的描述规范化，并且研究植物内部结构(internal structure of plants)，如观察茎、叶柄的切片(stem & petiole sections)，将解剖学信息用于分类学描述(taxonomic descriptions)。

∮2 Valerius Cordus 基本生平

Brief chronology of German physician and botanist Valerius Cordus (1515--1544)

--1515: Bornin Hesse (maybe Erfurt) Germany; [Valerius Cordus』 father is Euricius Cordus (1486--1535), a German scholar—poet, physician and botanist.]

--1527—1533: Studied botany and pharmacy under his father Euricius Cordus;

--1527: Began to study at the Philipp University of Marburg (Philipps-Universität Marburg);

--1531: Received B.A. from the Philipp University of Marburg;

--1531: Began to study at the University of Leipzig and work at an apothecary shop in Leipzig owned by his uncle;

--1539—1544: Studied medicine and delivered lectures on materia medica at University of Wittenberg; received MD from University of Wittenberg in 1544;

--1540: Became the first person to synthesize ether by adding sulfuric acid to ethyl alcohol;

--1542-1544: Made trips to Italy;

--1544: The five-volume Historia Plantarum were published;

--1544: Died in Rome, Italy at age of 29.

N.B. Valerius Cordus』 posthumous works were compiled and published by Swiss naturalist and bibliographer Conrad Gessner (1516--1565).