Dr. Dioscorides

author

Dr. Dioscorides

1812–1885

A nineteenth-century Dutch scientist writing as “Dr. Dioscorides,” he brought the same curiosity to fiction that he brought to medicine and natural history. His work is often remembered for its imaginative look at the future and its blend of learning, wit, and speculation.

1 Audiobook

Anno 2070: Een blik in de toekomst

by Dr. Dioscorides

About the author

Pieter Harting (1812–1885), who used the pseudonym Dr. Dioscorides, was a Dutch biologist, naturalist, and physician. Born in Rotterdam, he earned his medical degree at the University of Utrecht in 1835 and later became a professor there. His scientific work ranged widely, with especially notable contributions to microscopy, hydrology, botany, and biostratigraphy.

Alongside his academic career, Harting also wrote for a broader audience. Under the name Dr. Dioscorides, he published imaginative and forward-looking work, including the futurist tale Anno 2065 and its later versions. That combination of scientific training and playful invention gives his writing a distinctive charm: it feels informed, curious, and surprisingly modern.

For listeners coming to him through literature rather than science, Harting stands out as a writer who treated the future as something to think about seriously and creatively. His books offer a glimpse into how a nineteenth-century mind, shaped by medicine and natural history, imagined the world to come.