Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), German naturalist. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, daughter of a Swiss engraver, Merian was both a botanical illustrator and naturalist. Between 1675 and 1680, she published three books, with hand-coloured engravings, on plants and caterpillars and their life cycle. She also studied and described the life cycles of 186 insect species. She was dismissed by the scientific establishment for not writing in Latin. From 1699 to 1701 she travelled to and worked in Surinam, discovering and classifying many unknown plants and animals. Her classifications and illustrations are still used by botanists and museums.