Khristian Khristianovich Steven

Born Jan. 19 (30), 1781, in Friedrikshamn, present-day Hamina, Finland; died Apr. 18 (30), 1863, in Simferopol’. Russian botanist and entomologist. Honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1849; corresponding member from 1815). Swedish by nationality.

Steven graduated from the Medical and Surgical Academy in St. Petersburg in 1799. He became an inspector of silkworm breeding in the Caucasus in 1800; he was promoted to deputy senior inspector in 1806. From 1826 to 1851, Steven served as chief inspector of silkworm breeding and silk production in southern Russia. In 1812 he organized the Nikita Botanical Garden in the Crimea, serving as its director until 1824. Steven’s principal works dealt with the flora of the Crimea and the Caucasus and the taxonomy of seed plants and insects.