Leonhard Baldner
Strasbourg naturalist who pioneered glass aquariums and wrote on salmon migration.
Leonhard Baldner (1612 – 1 February 1694) was a fisherman and naturalist from Strasbourg. He created a handwritten, illustrated volume on birds, fish, and mammals called *Vogel-, Fisch- und Thierbuch*. Only six copies of this manuscript survive: two from 1653 and four from 1666. Baldner was an early user of glass aquariums for observing living fish, and he may have been the first person to document the migration and life cycle of the salmon.
Baldner was born into an old fishing family in Strasbourg, though his exact birth date is unknown. He married Salome, the daughter of Hans Michael Fries, on 25 January 1636, and they had four children. After her death, he married Anna Ursula, daughter of goldsmith Abraham Sprengel, in 1650; they also had four children. He worked as a toll collector, then as a forester, and eventually as a forest manager. Following Anna Ursula’s death, he married Barbara, daughter of Hebrew professor Benedictus Grossen. They too had four children, including a youngest son, Andreas, born in February 1673, who later transcribed his father’s manuscripts. Baldner died on 1 February 1694 and was buried in Strasbourg’s Saint-Urbain cemetery.
The original manuscript of the bird, fish, and animal book (1666) was inherited by Baldner’s youngest son, who kept it until 1687. It was then bought by organ builder Silbermann, who donated it to the city of Strasbourg. That copy was destroyed on the night of 24 August 1870 during a Prussian siege. A facsimile edition was published by Robert Lauterborn in 1903, though the plates differ slightly among surviving manuscripts. The book has three parts: the first covers 68 bird species, the second 45 fish and crustaceans, and the third quadrupeds and other animals. Baldner based his writings on personal observation, not on others’ reports. He hired Strasbourg artist Johann Georg Walther to illustrate the work. At least one, and likely two, copies were obtained by Francis Willughby in 1663. The German text was translated into English for Willughby and his collaborator John Ray by Frederick Slare.
- Birth year
- 1612 (exact date unknown)
- Death date
- 1 February 1694
- Place of birth
- Strasbourg
- Occupations
- fisherman, toll collector, forester, forest manager, naturalist
- Notable work
- Vogel-, Fisch- und Thierbuch
- Manuscript copies known
- 6
- Manuscript dates
- 1653 (two copies), 1666 (four copies)
Lore & Background
Baldner was born into an old fisher family in Strasbourg. He married three times: first to Salome, daughter of Hans Michael Fries, on January 25, 1636, with whom he had four children; second to Anna Ursula, daughter of goldsmith Abraham Sprengel, in 1650, also with four children; and third to Barbara, daughter of Hebrew professor Benedictus Grossen, with whom he had four more children, including his youngest son Andreas, born in February 1673, who later transcribed his father's manuscripts. Baldner worked as a toll collector, then a forester, and finally a forest manager. He died on February 1, 1694, and is buried in the Saint-Urbain cemetery in Strasbourg.
Reader's Guide
Baldner's Vogel-, Fisch- und Thierbuch is notable for being based entirely on personal observation, not relying on reports by others. He hired Strasbourg artist Johann Georg Walther to illustrate the book. The original manuscript was inherited by his youngest son Andreas, who kept it until 1687, after which it was purchased by organ builder Silbermann and donated to the city of Strasbourg. That copy was destroyed on the night of August 24, 1870, during a Prussian siege. A facsimile edition was published by Robert Lauterborn in 1903, though slight differences exist among surviving manuscript editions. The book includes three parts: birds (68 species), fishes and crustaceans (45 species), and quadrupeds and other animals. At least one, and probably two, copies were obtained by Francis Willughby in 1663, and the German text was translated into English for Willughby and John Ray by Frederick Slare. Baldner's use of glass aquariums to study fish in life marks him as an early pioneer in live observation, and his possible first written account of salmon migration and life-history adds to his significance in natural history.
Did You Know?
- Only six manuscript copies of Baldner's Vogel-, Fisch- und Thierbuch are known to exist.
- Baldner was one of the early pioneers to use glass aquariums to study fish in life.
- He was possibly the first to write on the migration and life-history of the salmon.
More in Fishkeeping 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced