BLOCK

From Agepedia

BLOCK, Marcus Eliezer; a naturalist of Jewish descent, born at Anspach, in 1723, of poor parents. In the 19th year of his age, he understood neither German nor Latin, nor had he, with the exception of some rabbinical writings, read any thing. Nevertheless, he became tutor in the house of a Jewish surgeon in Hamburg. Here he learned German and Latin, and, besides, acquired some knowledge of anatomy. His principal work is the JYaturgeschichte der Fische (Natural History of Fishes), fol., 1785- 1799, which is adorned with many colored plates. He enjoyed a welldeserved reputation, and died in 1799.