Augustus Quirinus Rivinus

Augustus Quirinus Rivinus also known as August Bachmann (December 9, 1652 – December 20, 1723) was a German physician and botanist.

He was born in Leipzig, Germany, and studied at the University of Leipzig (1669–1671), continued his studies in the University of Helmstedt (where he received M.D. in 1676). In 1677 he started lecturing in medicine at the University of Leipzig, in 1691 appointed to two chairs, that of physiology and of botany, and made the curator of the University medical garden. In 1701 he became professor of pathology, in 1719, professor of therapeutics and permanent dean of the Faculty of Medicine. The same year he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. Being interested also in astronomy, by the end of his life (around 1713) he nearly completely blinded himself by looking at sunspots. He died in Leipzig.

In his Introductio generalis in rem herbariam and three books on the plant orders (which comprised but a small part of the whole projected work on a methodical description of plants) he introduced several important innovations which were later used by other botanists (Joseph Pitton de Tournefort and Carolus Linnaeus among them). He classified the plants according to the structure of the flower. Like John Ray he extensively used dichotomous keys which led first to the higher groups, which he called higher genera (genus summum) of plant orders (ordo), and then to the lower genera. Alongside with Joseph Pitton de Tournefort he was the first to apply consistently the rule according to which the names of all species belonging to the same genus should start with the same word (generic name). If a genus contains just one species, the generic name would be its only name. If there are more than one species belonging to the genus, their names should consist of the generic name followed by differentia specifica (a brief diagnostic phrase). His nomenclature differed from that by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort because he did not use differentia specifica with the first plant of a genus, adding differentiae only to the second and subsequent plant species. He corresponded with John Ray on matters of plant classification.

Principal works

 * Introductio generalis in rem herbariam. Lipsiae Leipzig: Typis Christoph. Güntheri, 1690. [8] + 39 p.
 * Ordo Plantarum qvae sunt Flore Irregulari Monopetalo. Lipsiae: Typis Christoph. Fleischeri, 1690. 22 + [4] p. + 124 tab.
 * Ordo Plantarum qvae sunt Flore Irregulari Tetrapetalo. Lipsiae: Typis Christoph. Fleischeri, 1691. [6] + 20 + [4] p. + 121 tab.
 * Ordo Plantarum qvae sunt Flore Irregulari Pentapetalo. Lipsiae: Typis Joh. Heinrici Richteri, 1699. [6] + 28 + [4] p. + 139 tab.
 * D.A.Q.R. ad celeberrimum virum dominum Johan. Rajum... Epistola Lipsiae: Prostat apud Davidem Fleisherum, 1694. 24 p.
 * Censura medicamentorum officinalium. Lipsiae, J. Fritsch, 1701

Associated Eponyms:

 * notch of Rivinus: a notch in the upper part of the tympanic portion of the temporal bone.
 * Rivinus’ ligament: also known as Shrapnell's membrane; the flaccid portion of the tympanic membrane.
 * Viola riviniana: a species of violet; its popular name is the common dog violet.