Friedrich Traugott Kützing (8 December 1807 in Ritteburg – 9 September 1893) was a German

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and phycologist. Despite his limited background in regard to higher education, Kützing made significant scientific contributions. In 1833, he demonstrated differences between

diatom A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma'') is any member of a large group comprising several Genus, genera of algae, specifically microalgae, found in the oceans, waterways and soils of the world. Living diatoms make up a significant portion of Earth's B ...

s and

desmid Desmidiales, commonly called the desmids (''Gr.'' ''desmos'', bond or chain), are an Order (biology), order in the Charophyta, a division of green algae in which the land plants (Embryophyta) emerged. Desmids consist of single-celled (sometimes fi ...

s, thus separating the two groups into families of their own. Also, independent of Charles Cagniard-Latour (1777–1859) and

Theodor Schwann Theodor Schwann (; 7 December 181011 January 1882) was a German physician and physiology, physiologist. His most significant contribution to biology is considered to be the extension of cell theory to animals. Other contributions include the d ...

(1810–1882), he was among the first to provide comprehensive answers in regard to

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

and the role it played in

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

. In 1849, he published ''Species Algarum'', a large work that provided descriptions for 6000 species of

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

. He is the taxonomic authority of the genera '' Syringodium'' (family

Cymodoceaceae Cymodoceaceae is a family of flowering plants, sometimes known as the "manatee-grass family", which includes only marine species. The 2016 APG IV does recognize Cymodoceaceae and places it in the order Alismatales, in the clade monocots. The ...

) and ''Phlebothamnion'' (family Ceramiaceae).

Early life

As a young man, he worked in several pharmacies in Germany, also serving as assistant for a few semesters at the chemical-pharmaceutical institute of Franz Wilhelm Schweigger-Seidel (1795–1838) at Halle.

Career

In 1835, he spent several months on a botanical excursion to Italy and

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

, afterwards returning to Germany as a secondary school teacher of

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

in Nordhausen, a position his held until his retirement in 1883. In 1837 he was awarded with an honorary doctorate from the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

, and in 1843 received the title of professor.

Selected bibliography

* ''Über den naturgeschichtlichen Unterricht in Realschulen''. Schulprogramm der Realschule, Nordhausen 1837 - On natural history teaching in secondary schools. * ''Microscopische Untersuchungen über die Hefe und Essigmutter, nebst mehreren andern dazu gehörigen vegetabilischen Gebilden'', in: J. prakt. Chem. 11 (1837), S. 385–409. - Microscopical studies of yeast, etc. * ''Phycologia generalis oder Anatomie, Physiologie und Systemkunde der Tange'',

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

1843. * ''Die kieselschaligen Bacillarien oder Diatomeen'', Nordhausen 1844. - The silica-shelled Bacillaria or Diatomea. * ''Phycologica germanica, d. i. Deutschlands Algen in bündigen Beschreibungen. Nebst einer Anleitung zum Untersuchen und Bestimmen dieser Gewächse für Anfänger'', Nordhausen 1845. - Algae from Germany in concise descriptions, etc. * ''Species Algarum'', Leipzig 1849, (Known algae of all parts of the world, 6000 described species). ---- Kützing edited and distributed the

exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...

''Algarum aquae dulcis Germanicarum, collegit Fridericus Traugott Kutzing'' (1833-1836).

References

Biography
@

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

in German

External links

Natural History Museum
Historic collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kutzing, Friedrich Traugott 1807 births 1893 deaths 19th-century German botanists German phycologists German pharmacists People from Kyffhäuserkreis Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina