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

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

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''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group comprising sev ...

s and

desmid Desmidiales, commonly called desmids (''Gr.'' ''desmos'', bond or chain), are an order in the Charophyta, a division of green algae in which the land plants (Embryophyta) emerged. Or in other words, Desmid, (order Desmidiales), order of single- ...

s, thus separating the two groups into families of their own. Also, independent of

Charles Cagniard-Latour Baron Charles Cagniard de la Tour (31 March 1777 – 5 July 1859) was a French engineer and physicist. Charles Cagniard was born in Paris, and after attending the École Polytechnique became one of the ''ingénieurs géographiques''. He examined ...

(1777–1859) and

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

(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. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

and the role it played in

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

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

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

He is the

taxonomic authority In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

of the genera ''

Syringodium ''Syringodium'' is a genus in the family Cymodoceaceae described as a genus in 1860. It is found along shorelines of tropical and subtropical marine environments (Indian and Pacific Oceans, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico). Species There are two recog ...

'' (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 fam ...

) 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 (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

, afterwards returning to Germany as a secondary school teacher of

natural sciences Natural 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 review and repeatab ...

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: * Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district **Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city * Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost ...

, 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 (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...

, 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 German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

1843. * ''Die kieselschaligen Bacillarien oder Diatomeen'', Nordhausen 1844. - The silica-shelled

Bacillaria ''Bacillaria'' is a diatom genus in the family Bacillariaceae. Species *'' Bacillaria paradoxa'' Gmelin 1788 *'' Bacillaria paxillifer'' ( O.F. Müller) Hendey (1951) Lifecycle This genus is photosynthetic, and reproduces sexually an ...

Diatomea A diatom ( Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group comprising se ...

. * ''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).Pharmazeutische Zeitung
Friedrich Traugott Kützing, Apotheker und bedeutender Botaniker

References

Biography
@

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) 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 Aca ...

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 Academy of Sciences Leopoldina