Johann Samuel Eduard d'Alton (July 17, 1803 - July 25, 1854) was a German

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

born in

Sankt Goar Sankt Goar is a town on the west bank of the Middle Rhine in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hunsrück-Mittelrhein, whose seat is in Emmelshausen. Sankt Goar is well kn ...

. He was the son of engraver

Eduard Joseph d'Alton Joseph Wilhelm Eduard d’Alton (August 11, 1772 – May 11, 1840) was a German engraver and naturalist who was a native of Aquileia (today part of Italy). He was the father of anatomist Johann Samuel Eduard d'Alton (1803–1854). Originall ...

(1772–1840). He studied medicine at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

, and subsequently taught anatomical drawing at the

Berlin Academy of Arts The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

(from 1827). After the death of

Johann Friedrich Meckel Johann Friedrich Meckel (17 October 1781 – 31 October 1833), often referred to as Johann Friedrich Meckel, the Younger, was a German anatomist born in Halle. He worked as a professor of anatomy, pathology and zoology at the University of Halle, ...

(1781 to 1833), d'Alton was appointed his successor as professor of anatomy at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

. He maintained this position until his death in 1854. In 1838 he became a member of the

Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

.Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina
/ref> His better known works were in the fields of comparative anatomy, development history and

teratology Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development in organisms during their life span. It is a sub-discipline in medical genetics which focuses on the classification of congenital abnormalities in dysmorphology. The relate ...

. He is remembered for his masterful drawings of human and comparative anatomy.

Written works

* ''Ueber das Nervensystem der Petromyzon'' (with

Friedrich Schlemm Friedrich Schlemm (11 December 1795 – 27 May 1858) was a German anatomist who was professor at the University of Berlin. He was born in Salzgitter. As his family could not afford higher education, he was apprenticed to a barber-surgeon in Brauns ...

; 1838) – On the nervous system of ''

Petromyzon The sea lamprey (''Petromyzon marinus'') is a parasitic lamprey native to the Northern Hemisphere. It is sometimes referred to as the "vampire fish". Description The sea lamprey has an eel-like body without paired fins. Its mouth is jawless, ...

''. * ''De monstrorum duplicium origine'' (1849). * ''Handbuch der vergleichenden Anatomie des Menschen'' (1850) – Handbook of comparative anatomy of man. * ''De monstris, quibus extremitates superfluae suspensae sunt'' (1853). * ''Der fossile Gavial von Boll in Württemberg'' (with

Hermann Burmeister Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister (also known as Carlos Germán Conrado Burmeister) (15 January 1807 – 2 May 1892) was a German Argentine zoologist, entomologist, herpetologist, botanist, and coleopterologist. He served as a professor at the Uni ...

; 1854) – The fossil gavial of Boll in

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

References

1803 births 1854 deaths People from Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis German anatomists Academic staff of the University of Halle People from the Rhine Province {{Germany-biologist-stub