Johann Anderson (naturalist)

Johann Anderson (14 March 1674 – 3 May 1743) was a German lawyer, naturalist, linguist, and writer who became a mayor of Hamburg.

He was among the first to write about his travels to Greenland which was published posthumously in 1746 as Nachrichten von Island und Grönland.

Anderson was born in Hamburg, the son of a merchant and whaling ship owner Ammon.

He studied law at Leipzig from 1694 and then went to Halle and obtained a doctorate from Leiden with a dissertation titled De iuramento Zenoniano.

He also became interested in natural history and his acquaintances included Anton van Leeuwenhoek.