Marcus E. Bloch (1723-1799)

Marcus Bloch was born in Anspach, Germany and became a medical doctor and naturalist. As a young medical student, he devoted himself to the study of all branches of natural science and medicine but excelled in ichthyology. He accumulated his collection of specimens through local excurions, contacts in the marketplace and harbor. As his interest ranged beyond central Europe, he joined a network of scientific and scholarly contacts who inspired him to attempt to describe and figure all the fishes of the then known world.