1799 - Maeda Toshiyasu

*Maeda Toshiyasu, a Japanese naturalist, was born.

Maeda Toshiyasu (March 23, 1799 - September 14, 1859) was a Japanese naturalist and entomologist.  He was a daimyo (territorial lord) of Toyama and with other daimyos and officials of the shogunate organized a society of naturalists which met each month. An account was written of the subject discussed, for instance, in September 1840 they discussed the beetle family Scarabaeidae and wrote Kyôro-shakô-zusetsu in which twenty chafer species are scientifically drawn and described.  As these studies were refined each member of the group became a specialist.  Maeda learned the Dutch language (the Japanese naturalists followed the German Philipp Franz von Siebold who was then employed by the Dutch) and translated the Dutch language Systema Naturae into Japanese.