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Georg CamelJesuit missionary and botanist.
Date of Birth: 21.04.1661
Country:  Germany |
Content:
Biography of Georg Joseph Kamel
Georg Joseph Kamel (born April 21, 1661, in Brno - died May 2, 1706, in Manila) was a Jesuit missionary and botanist. He was born in 1661 to the family of Andrej Kamel. After completing his education at a local Jesuit gymnasium, he joined the Jesuit order on November 12, 1682. Kamel acquired practical medical skills in the monastery hospital. Following his novitiate, he served as an assistant to a physician and later taught medicine at a Jesuit school in 1686. In 1687, he was sent to the Jesuit mission in Mexico and in 1689, he found himself in Manila, Philippines.
Contributions and Achievements
In Manila, Kamel worked as a pharmacist at the Colegio de San Ignacio and also assisted in caring for the sick. He opened the first pharmacy in the Philippines, where he provided free medications to the poor. Kamel dedicated himself to studying the local flora in search of medicinal plants and established a large botanical garden where he cultivated both European and local medicinal plants. He wrote the book "Herbarium aliarumque stirpium in insula Luzone Philippinarum" (Herbs and Medicinal Plants of Luzon Island, Philippines), accompanied by his own illustrations. Notably, he described the plant Strychnos Sancti Ignatii (Faba Sancti Ignatii), which contains the alkaloid strychnine.
Correspondence and Legacy
Starting from 1690, Kamel maintained correspondence with English naturalists John Ray and James Petiver. His manuscripts are mainly preserved in the British Museum, while his collection is housed at the Catholic University of Leuven. He is also known by the name Kamellus. The camellia plant family was named in his honor by Carl Linnaeus.
