Johann Scheuchzer. Historical portrait of the Swiss scientist Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672- 1733). Scheuchzer studied medicine but was more interested in other branches of science, including palaeontology, geography and botany. He became a member of the Royal Society in 1708, whose members (including Newton) paid for him to publish several of his works. His main interest was in the effects of altitude on the body. Scheuchzer worked as the municipal physician in Zurich and as physician to Peter the Great, supplementing his income with private teaching. He was appointed as professor of natural philosophy at the Karolinum in Zurich in 1733.