Johann Friedrich Blumenbach

(1752 – 1840)

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach was born on May 11, 1752 in Gotha, Germany, to parents Heinrich Blumenbach, an assistant school headmaster, and Charlotte Eleonore Hedwig Buddeus, the daughter of a notable government official. He is well known for his research relating to biodiversity, commonly known as "race." He was a key figure in the early development of physical anthropology, the study of the origin, evolution, and diversity of people.

Blumenbach completed his early education in Gotha in 1769 and went on to pursue further education in medicine at the University of Jena, and later at the University of Göttingen. While at the university of Göttingen, Blumenbach studied with the language expert and naturalist Christian W. Büttner, who lectured on culture and natural history, and inspired a young Blumenbach to explore such areas of study.

Blumenbach graduated in 1775, and formally published his MD thesis, De generis humani varietate native (On the Natural Variety of Mankind) , in 1776. His dissertation was regarded as the first influential exploration of race, wherein he proposed that natural variations exist among human beings, and such variations can be studied objectively using comparative anatomy. In particular, through comparing anatomical features of human craniums, Blumenbach posited that while all human beings share a common ancestry, they could be divided into five classifications: Americans, East Asians, Sub-Saharan Africans, Indo-Europeans/North African Peoples, and Pacific peoples. He viewed the pale skinned Caucasian race as the original race and attributed the variations among humans in skin tone, and physique, to environmental factors. Though earlier naturalists, like Georges-Louis Leclerc and Carl Linnaeus, had also created typologies of the human species; they were heavily influenced by racial biases, subjective observations, and travel narratives that were not always reliable. Blumenbach claimed that his racial classifications derived from anatomical observations of racial difference, and reliable reports. Following the completion of his doctorate, Blumenbach became a curator and inspector for the natural history museum of Göttingen in 1777 and later obtained a professorship in medicine at the University of Göttingen in 1778.

Blumenbach is often referred to as the "father of physical anthropology," because he took a broad-based anatomical approach to studying human variation. He was the first individual to propose a five-part classificatory model of humanity. This view was largely derived from Thomas Bendyshe's translations of Blumenbach's key anthropological texts, which were originally written in Latin and German. Bendyshe was a pro-slavery, white supremacist from England. Modern studies have found that his interpretations of Blumenbach's racial theories were largely misinformed and overly simplistic.

While Blumenbach was not an outspoken abolitionist, he did oppose the slave trade. In two of his papers, Observations of Bodily Conformation and Mental Capacity of the Negroes (1799) and Contributions to Natural History (1805), he speaks of "the good disposition and faculties" of formerly enslaved Africans, such as Ignatius Sancho, Gustuvas Vassa, and Phillis Wheatley. In the latter paper, he concluded that "negroes, in regards to their mental facilities and capacity, are not inferior to the rest of the human race." To prove his point, he collected books written by authors with West African ancestry such as Phillis Wheatley, Benjamin Banneker, and Gustavus Vassa. In 1790, Blumenbach wrote a lengthy review of Vassa's autobiography in which he deemed Vassa to be "[Yet] another virtuous Negro, who shows himself to be a useful and pleasant writer (Weider ein braver Neger, der sich als nützlicher und angenehmer Schriftsteller zeigt) ." Furthermore, Blumenbach summarizes parts of Vassa's autobiography in his review, and compliments Vassa's attentiveness and eagerness for knowledge: "He [Vassa] describes the history/narrative of his hitherto 44 years life, that admittedly contain some bitter [...] revolting experiences, but also a lot of remarkable things [···] particularly on his travels to the four parts of the world and due to his natural eagerness for knowledge and attentiveness, as well as the education and skills that he had earned, especially in nautical knowledge." That same year, Blumenbach included Vassa in his book Beyträge zur Nturgeschichte. He quotes two large passages from Vassa, one in which he describes his experience trying to convert a Miskitu elder to Christianity, and another in which he recollects military action at sea. Blumenbach used these examples to illustrate that Blacks were just as intelligent and devout as "many of their white brothers."

In 1806, Blumenbach indicated that he and Vassa had met in person. It is likely that the two met at some point between December 1791 and March 1792. During this period, Blumenbach was in England. Blumenbach's Göttingen colleague, Georg Friedrich Benecke, translated Vassa's autobiography to German in 1792. It is possible that Blumenbach personally informed Vassa about the German edition during their visit. Blumenbach may have also wished to meet Vassa so that he could observe his anatomical features or perhaps to ask him about his travels to the Arctic and his interactions with other non-Europeans. Vassa's success as a writer would have been of great interest to Blumenbach, as it illustrated how one's environment can influence one's intellect, regardless of race. It is also plausible that Vassa, aware of Blumenbach's interest in his autobiography, was first to make contact. The two men had acquaintances in common. Blumenbach had aided in the planning of Joseph Bank's exploratory missions. Banks was the President and founder of the Royal Society, the leading scientific association in Britain during this time. De Generis III was dedicated to Banks. Banks was well acquainted with Constantine John Phipps, an explorer of some acclaim. In 1773, Phipps embarked upon an exploration of the Arctic Ocean, along with the naturalist; Dr. Charles Irving, and Irving's assistant, Gustavus Vassa.

Blumenbach continued to teach at the University of Göttingen into his late years, and later published his textbook, Handbuch der Vergleichenden Anatomie (Handbook of Comparative Anatomy) in 1805, considered by many to be the most influential text on physiology and comparative anatomy. He died on January 22, 1840 in Göttingen. His skull collection is presently held at the University of Göttingen.

Sketch by Hugo Bürkner (1853) in Ludwig Bechstein, ed., Zweihundert Bildnisse und Lebensabrisse berühmter deutscher Männer (1870).