Henry Potonié (16 November 1857 – 28 November 1913) was a German

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

paleobotanist Paleobotany, which is also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeogr ...

, known for his studies of coal formation. Potonié was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. He studied botany at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

, and from 1880 served as a research assistant in the botanical garden at Berlin. In 1885 he became associated with the Prussian Geological Survey, and from that time, devoted most of his time to paleobotanical research. In 1891 he was appointed professor of paleobotany at the Mining Academy in Berlin, then around 1901, became a professor of paleobotany and

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

at the university.Nature, Volume 92
edited by Sir

Norman Lockyer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (17 May 1836 – 16 August 1920) was an English scientist and astronomer. Along with the French scientist Pierre Janssen, he is credited with discovering the gas helium. Lockyer also is remembered for being the f ...

In 1888, he became editor of the ''Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift'', a periodical that he was associated with for 24 years, and supported several associations devoted to popularize science in Berlin, such as the

Urania Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, he ...

. He died in

Groß-Lichterfelde Lichterfelde () is a locality in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Steglitz, along with Steglitz and Lankwitz. Lichterfelde is home to institutions like the Berlin Botanical G ...

(now a part of Berlin) in 1913, aged 56.

Selected works

In 1899 he published the highly acclaimed ''Lehrbuch der Pflanzenpalaeontologie'' (Textbook of Plant Paleontology); its second edition being published in 1921 by

Walther Gothan Walther Ulrich Eduard Friedrich Gothan (26 August 1879 in Woldegk – 30 December 1954 in Berlin) was a German paleobotanist, known for his studies of Carboniferous flora.hard coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the high ...

and related formations, including petroleum. * ''Grundlinien der Pflanzen-morphologie im Lichte der Palaeontologie'', 1912 – Elements of

plant morphology Phytomorphology is the study of the morphology (biology), physical form and external structure of plants.Raven, P. H., R. F. Evert, & S. E. Eichhorn. ''Biology of Plants'', 7th ed., page 9. (New York: W. H. Freeman, 2005). . This is usually cons ...

in the light of

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

.Most widely held works by H Potonié
WorldCat Identities

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potonie, Henry 1857 births 1913 deaths Scientists from Berlin Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Paleobotanists 19th-century German botanists 20th-century German botanists