Müller, Gerhard Friedrich (1705-1783)

Gerhard Friedrich Müller (1705-1783) was a German historian and explorer who worked in Russia from 1725 until his death. Müller was known for his publications on the history of Russia and his participation as a leading researcher on the second Kamchatka expedition (1733-1743). He conducted ethnographic research himself, but also commissioned his colleagues and assistants to describe the peoples of Siberia in a comprehensive way in order to compare them with each other and with the peoples of other continents. His ethnographic works, published between 2003 and 2018, clearly show that he was one of the founders of ethnography as a scholarly activity in the 1730s and 1740s.

Keywords: History | Ethnography | Scientific Expeditions | Fieldwork | Enlightenment | 18^th century | Germany | Russia | Siberia | St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences | Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera)