Ignaz von Olfers

Ignaz Franz Werner Maria von Olfers was a German naturalist, historian and diplomat.

Biography

He was born in Münster, into an banking Olfers family, that in 1803 also became an aristocratic one. In 1816 he travelled to Brazil as a diplomat.
In 1839 he was made director of the royal art collections and had significant influence on Frederick William IV of Prussia for a re-development of the Museumsinsel, Berlin. Together with architect Friedrich August Stueler, he developed the concept of the Neues Museum, Berlin and had great influence on organisation and presentation of exhibits and interior. His daughter was the writer and illustrator Marie von Olfers.
Olfers described a number of new mammal species in Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege's Journal von Brasilien.
In 1819, Olfersia which is a genus of ferns from South America, was published, then a species of South American snake, Philodryas olfersii, and frog, Physalaemus olfersii, were all named in his honour.