Ludwig Jost

ForMemRS Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics ...

(born November 13, 1865 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

– February 22, 1947 in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

) 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 university professor.

Life and work

After attending the gymnasium in Karlsruhe, Jost studied natural sciences at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, then from 1885, was a student at Kaiser Wilhelm University in Strasbourg. In 1887 he obtained his PhD as a student of

Anton de Bary Heinrich Anton de Bary (26 January 183119 January 1888) was a German surgeon, botanist, microbiologist, and mycologist (fungal systematics and physiology). He is considered a founding father of plant pathology (phytopathology) as well as the fou ...

, and later on, worked as an assistant to Karl von Goebel at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

. Afterwards, he returned to Strasbourg, where in 1891, he received his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

under the sponsorship of

Hermann zu Solms-Laubach Hermann zu Solms-Laubach, more precisely Hermann Maximilian Carl Ludwig Friedrich Graf zu Solms-Laubach (23 December 1842 in Laubach, Grand Duchy of Hesse – 24 November 1915 in Strasbourg) was a German botanist. Life Count Solms-Laubach studi ...

. In 1894 he became an associate professor, and from 1919 to 1934, he held the chair of botany at the

.Jost, Ludwig
In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, , S. 630 f. He earlier research largely dealt with morphological and

histological Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

issues — later on, his main field of study involved the physiology of plants; working with subjects such as: growth rhythm,

nyctinasty Nyctinasty is the circadian rhythmic nastic movement of higher plants in response to the onset of darkness, or a plant "sleeping". Nyctinastic movements are associated with diurnal light and temperature changes and controlled by the circadian cloc ...

geotropism Gravitropism (also known as geotropism) is a coordinated process of differential growth by a plant in response to gravity pulling on it. It also occurs in fungi. Gravity can be either "artificial gravity" or natural gravity. It is a general featu ...

, leaf positioning, electrical potential differences on

cell wall A cell wall is a structural layer surrounding some types of cells, just outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. It provides the cell with both structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mech ...

s, et al.

Works

* ''Baum und Wald'' (Tree and forest); J. Springer, Berlin 1936, 2nd, revised edition by Fritz Overbeck. Springer, Berlin / New York / Paris 1952. * ''Die Entstehung der großen Entdeckungen in der Botanik'' (The emergence of the great discoveries in botany). Speech at the inauguration ceremony on the 18th kingdom January, 1930. Carl Winter, Heidelberg, 1930 (University of Heidelberg speeches; 9). * ''Zum hundertsten Geburtstag Anton de Barys. Lebenswerk eines Botanikers des 19. Jahrhunderts'' (Anton de Bary's centenary year. Life's work of a botanist of the 19th Century). G. Fischer, Jena, 1930. * with Gerta von Ubisch: ''Zur Windefrage'' (The wind question). W. de Gruyter & Co., Berlin, 1926. * ''Führer durch den Botanischen Garten in Heidelberg'' (Guide to the botanical garden in Heidelberg). Heidelberg 1922 escription of the contemporary state of the garden on the campus* ''Der Kampf ums Dasein im Pflanzenreich'' (The struggle for existence in the plant kingdom). Heitz, Strasbourg 1916 (Strasbourg, Rector's speech of 1 May 1916). *
Vorlesungen über Pflanzenphysiologie
' (Lectures on plant physiology). Fischer, Jena, 1913. * He also edited the section on physiology in seven editions (ed.10, 1910 – ed.16, 1923) of

Eduard Strasburger Eduard Adolf Strasburger (1 February 1844 – 18 May 1912) was a Polish-German professor and one of the most famous botanists of the 19th century. He discovered mitosis in plants. Life Eduard Strasburger was born in Warsaw, Congress Poland, the ...

's ''Lehrbuch der Botanik für Hochschulen''.

References

External links

* Henry Walter: "Ludwig Jost for his 75th Birthdays." (Essay) In: ''Journal of Natural Sciences'', Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg, 1940 (Volume 28, Number 46 / November 1940, pp. 713–714) * "Ludwig Jost", ''German wikipedia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Jost, Ludvig 1865 births 1947 deaths Foreign Members of the Royal Society Scientists from Karlsruhe 20th-century German botanists Heidelberg University faculty University of Strasbourg alumni University of Strasbourg faculty Plant physiologists