Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin was the son of a textile and velvet manufacturer in Leiden, Holland. He first studied medicine in Leiden, moving later to Paris and subsequently came to Vienna at the invitation of the Imperial Court doctor Gerard van Swieten. He participated in the first scientific expeditions to Central America, financed by the Imperial Court, and returned with extensive animal, seed, coin and ethnological samples as well as live animals and plants, along with minerals.

In 1762, Jacquin took over the Chair for Minerals and Mining at the newly-established Mining Academy in Schemnitz. In 1768 he was appointed Professor of Botany and Chemistry and became the Director of the Botanical Gardens of the University of Vienna. In 1809, he was also Rector of the University of Vienna.