| Michael Gottlieb Agnethler | |
| Birth Date: | 10 June 1719 |
| Birth Place: | Hermannstadt (now Sibiu), Romania |
| Death Place: | Helmstedt, Germany |
| Citizenship: | German |
| Fields: | Botany, numismatics |
| Workplaces: | Akademie der Naturforscher University of Helmstedt |
| Alma Mater: | University of Halle |
Michael Gottlieb Agnethler (10 June 1719 – 15 June 1752) was a German botanist and numismatist.
Michael Agnethler was born to an aristocratic Transylvanian Saxon family of Hermannstadt (now Sibiu, Romania).[1] The Agnethlers had been of a long, prestigious history, with many local socialites in the region. The name of the family originated from the Saxon town of Agnetheln.[2]
Michael Agnethler was the only son of his family. The father was the principal of a gymnasium.[2] Just after Michael's birth, his father was appointed pastor of Gierelsau (Bradu), so the family moved there, where Michael spent his childhood, then returning to Sibiu to attend school.[2]
Michael Agnethler had been of a weak physical constitution, with difficulty sleeping.[2] An anecdote is known, where Agnethler was frightened in his sleep by a fellow student—who jokingly mumbled "swim, you're drowning" into his ears—with Agnethler amidst a nightmare, moving his arms frantically like swimming.[2]
Agnethler started his studies of theology[2] at the University of Halle in 1742; other interests included Ancient Rome antiquities and numismatics.[2] Additionally, his physical frailness led him to start studying Medicine.[2]
Agnethler eventually earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in 1750, and of Medicine in 1751. Also in that year, he was given a position at the Akademie der Naturforscher, and soon afterwards became lecturer in Rhetoric, Antiquities, and Poetry at the University of Helmstedt. However, he suffered a severe tuberculosis infection,[2] and died soon thereafter, in 1752.
Michael Gottlieb Agnethler is also known as an entomologist.
He published a number of works on botany (mostly commentaries on Linnaeus) and on numismatics, the latter including descriptions of the coin collections of Johann Heinrich Schulze and Martin Schmeizel.