Eduard Strasburger

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Eduard Strasburger.

Eduard Adolf Strasburger (1 February 1844 – 18 May 1912) was a Polish-German[1] professor who was one of the most famous botanists of the 19th century.

He was born in Warsaw, Congress Poland, son of Edward Bogumił Strasburger (1803–1874). In 1870, he married Aleksandra Julia Wertheim (1847–1902), and had two children: Anna (b. 1870) and Julius (1871–1934).

Strasburger studied biological sciences in Paris, Bonn and Jena, receiving a PhD in 1866 after working with Nathanael Pringsheim. In 1868 he taught at the University of Warsaw. In 1869 he was appointed professor of botany at the University of Jena. Since 1881 he was head of the Botanisches Institut at the University of Bonn.

Strasburger died in Bonn, Imperial Germany.

Accomplishments

Strasburger was a founder of the famous Lehrbuch der Botanik für Hochschulen (Textbook of Botany), which first appeared in 1894. He was the first to provide an accurate description of the embryonic sac in gymnosperms (such as conifers) and angiosperms (flowering plants), along with demonstrating double-fertilization in angiosperms. He came up with one of the modern laws of plant cytology: "New cell nuclei can only arise from the division of other nuclei." and originated the terms cytoplasm and nucleoplasm.

Together with Walther Flemming, and Edouard van Beneden he elucidated chromosome distribution during cell division. His work on the upward movement of tree sap proved that the process was physical and not physiological.

Awards

He was awarded the Linnean Society of London's prestigious Darwin-Wallace Medal in 1908.

Family

Strasburger was married to Alexandra Julie ("Alexandrine") Wertheim (1847-1902, daughter of the banker Julius Wertheim 1817-1901); they had two children. His son was the internist Julius Strasburger, a grandson the ancient historian Hermann Strasburger.[2]

Bibliography

  • "On Cell Formation and Cell Division", 1876 – a book in which he set forth the basic principles of mitosis
  • 1894 textbook Textbook of Botany (written with colleagues)

References

  1. Iłowiecki, Maciej (1981). Dzieje nauki polskiej. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Interpress. p. 188. ISBN 83-223-1876-6. 
  2. Klaus Oskar Leyde: Strasburger. In: Deutsches Geschlechterbuch Band 207 (56. Allgemeiner Band), C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg 1998, S. 227–242.
  3. [http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advAuthorSearch.do?find_abbreviation=Strasb. "Author Query for 'Strasb.'"]. International Plant Names Index. 



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