Early Life and Education
Gmelin was born in Tübingen, the son of an professor at the University of Tübingen. He was a gifted child and begun attending university lectures at the age of 14. In 1727, he graduated with a medical degree at the age of 18. He then travelled to St Petersburg and obtained a fellowship at the Academy of Sciences in 1728. He lectured at the university from 1730, and in the following year was appointed professor of chemistry and natural history.
At his suggestion, Johann Amman left Hans Sloane in London to take up a post in St Petersburg. The final two volumes of Johann Christian Buxbaum's (1693–1730) Centuria were published posthumously by Gmelin.
Read more about this topic: Johann Georg Gmelin
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