Conrad Gessner (1516–1565)

The Zurich polymath Conrad Gessner (1516–1565) is known as the founder of zoology and plant geography, the father of bibliography, editor of ancient texts, and author of one of the most important paleontological works of the sixteenth century. While preparing his extensive work on plants, he died unexpectedly and early from the plague. Gessner's interest in the natural sciences was rooted, on the one hand, in the new conception of nature that emerged with the Renaissance, and, on the other hand, in the creation theology of the Reformation, which considered nature as a second book of God's revelation next to the Bible. This richly illustrated and erudite biography is the first biography of Gessner to appear in English.

This biography is a translation of Conrad Gessner (1516-1565): Universalgelehrter und Naturforscher der Renaissance (Basel: NZZ Libro, 2016).

Urs B. Leu, Dr. phil. in History (1990, University of Zürich) is Director of the Rare Book Department at the Zentralbibliothek Zürich. He has published extensively on Conrad Gessner and the Swiss reformation as well as the history of science.

"This new book about Gessner will undoubtedly serve the learned public well and inspire further research. Thanks to Urs Leu, future researchers will stand on solid biographical and bibliographical ground."
Mikhail Sergeyev in New Literary Observer 2024 (translated from Russian)
DOI: 10.53953/08696365_2024_187_3_380

Praise for the German edition:

“Beyond the claim of being an “intellectual biography,” the book offers rich and detailed insights into sixteenth-century Zurich, a city Gessner only left for a few years when he was a student. One appreciates not only Leu’s local knowledge and embedding in today’s intellectual discourse of the city, but also his extensive familiarity with Zurich’s treasure of old books published in the time of Gessner.”
Tilmann Walter, University of Würzburg. In: Gesnerus, Vol. 74, No. 1 (2017), pp. 141–143.

“With his comprehensive description of the diverse interests and activities of the Zurich scholar Conrad Gessner, Urs B. Leu has succeeded in writing an appealing biography. […] The book is a very valuable contribution to the (re)discovery of an important Swiss scholar of the European Renaissance, and invites readers to discover the figure of Conrad Gessner.”
Simona Boscani Leoni, University of Bern. In: H-Soz-Kult, 13.04.2017.