Eduard Oscar Schmidt (21 February 1823, in
Torgau – 17 January 1886, in
Kappelrodeck
Kappelrodeck ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Kabbl) is a town in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany and belongs to the district of Ortenau. It is located at the western hillslope of the Black Forest in the valley Achertal. It is about 20 kilometre ...
) was a German
zoologist and phycologist.
Biography
He initially studied
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and
science at
Halle Halle may refer to:
Places Germany
* Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt
** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt
** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany
** Hall ...
, then continued his education in
Berlin, where he came under the influence of
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg and
Johannes Peter Müller
Johannes Peter Müller (14 July 1801 – 28 April 1858) was a German physiologist, comparative anatomy, comparative anatomist, ichthyology, ichthyologist, and herpetology, herpetologist, known not only for his discoveries but also for his ability ...
. In 1847 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 ...
at the
University of Jena, becoming an associate professor during the following year. In 1855 was he appointed professor of zoology at the
University of Cracow
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
. Later he taught classes at the Universities of
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
(from 1857) and
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
(from 1872).
Schmidt was an early proponent of
Darwinian evolutionary thought. He is remembered for his research of
Porifera
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through th ...
(sponges), particularly species from the
Adriatic Sea. Schmidt also made contributions in the field of
phycology.
As far back as 1862 Oscar Schmidt showed that "cuttings" of sponges will attach themselves and grow. This idea was followed through in the experiments of Croatian scientist
Grgur Bučić on the island of
Hvar, from 1863–1872, but these experiments were brought to a close by the hostility of the native fishermen.
[(Croatian]
Prirodoslovni kabinet "Dr. Grgur Bučić"
Muzej hvarske baštine
Written works
Schmidt built a reputation based upon a handbook of
comparative anatomy
Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species).
The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...
, the 9th edition of which, by
Arnold Lang
Arnold Lang (18 June 1855 – 30 November 1914) was a Swiss naturalist, a comparative anatomist and student of German biologist Ernst Haeckel. Biography
In March 1876 he earned his PhD from the University of Jena, and two months later became hab ...
, was issued under the title ''Lehrbuch der vergleichenden Anatomie der wirbellosen Tiere'' (1888–1894). He made significant contributions to ''
Brehms Tierleben'', and was the author of several treatises on sponges. The following are some of his principal writings:
* ''Bilder aus dem Norden'' - Images of the North, based on Schmidt's second expedition to the
Faeroe Islands and the
North Cape, 1851.
* ''Goethes Verhältnis zu den organischen Naturwissenschaften'', (1853).
* ''Lehrbuch der Zoologie'' - Textbook of zoology, 1854.
* ''Die Entwicklung der vergleichenden Anatomie'' - Development of comparative anatomy, 1855.
* ''Die Spongien des adriatischen Meeres'' - Sponges of the Adriatic Sea, 1862.
* ''Das Alter der Menschheit und das Paradies'', (with
Franz Unger
Franz Joseph Andreas Nicolaus Unger (30 November 1800 in ''Gut Amthof'' near village Leutschach in Styria, Austria – 13 February 1870 in Graz) was an Austrian botanist, paleontologist and plant physiologist.
Life and work
Initially, Ung ...
, 1866).
* ''Descendenzlehre und Darwinismus''
''The Doctrine of Descent and Darwinism'' (1873, 3rd edition 1884).
* ''Leitfaden der Zoologie'' (4th edition 1882).
* ''Die Säugethiere in ihrem Verhältnis zur Vorwelt'', (1884).
See also
*
:Taxa named by Eduard Oscar Schmidt
Notes
References
Wikisourcetranslated 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 ...
*
External links
*
*
1823 births
1886 deaths
19th-century German zoologists
Jagiellonian University faculty
People from the Province of Saxony
People from Torgau
Spongiologists
Academics of the University of Graz
University of Jena faculty
University of Strasbourg faculty
{{Germany-zoologist-stub