Johannes Reinke (February 3, 1849 – February 25, 1931) 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

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

who was a native of Ziethen, Lauenburg. He is remembered for his research of

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning " ...

marine algae. Reinke brothers

Academic background

Reinke studied botany with his father from the age of eight. Reinke studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...

, but his focus later changed to

botany 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 w ...

. In 1879 he became a professor of botany at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, where he established the institute of

plant physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (b ...

. From 1885 until 1921, he was a professor at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

. Reinke was a co-founder of the ''Deutsche Botanische Gesellschaft''.

Contributions

Reinke had a keen interest in the systematics, developmental cycles,

cytology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

and

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

brown algae Brown algae (singular: alga), comprising the class Phaeophyceae, are a large group of multicellular algae, including many seaweeds located in colder waters within the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and p ...

. From 1888 to 1892, he published a number of articles on marine algae from the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

s — in regards to the Baltic, he described several new genera of algae. He also published works on the algal families

Tilopteridaceae Tilopteridaceae is a brown algae family in the order Tilopteridales. References External links * Brown algae families Tilopteridales {{Phaeophyceae-stub ...

(1889) and Sphacelariaceae (1890). Furthermore, he postulated that the encrusting algae genus called ''Aglaozonia'' was a stage in the life history of '' Cutleria''. He has been credited for being the first to use the word to refer to the

propagule In biology, a propagule is any material that functions in propagating an organism to the next stage in its life cycle, such as by dispersal. The propagule is usually distinct in form from the parent organism. Propagules are produced by organisms ...

-producing area in lichens in an 1895 publication, introducing a term still in common use. '' Reinkella'', a genus of

lichenized fungi A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Roccellaceae The Roccellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Arthoniomycetes. Most taxa are lichenized with green algae, although some are lichenicolous, growing on other lichens. Genera , Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accepts 47 genera ...

, was named in his honour in 1897. Reinke was a proponent of scientific "neo-

vitalism Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...

", and a critic of the Darwinian theory of evolution. Opposing the secularization of science, Reinke, along with his Lutheran friend Eberhard Dennert, founded the ''Keplerbund'' ("Kepler Association") in 1907. They opposed

Haeckel Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (; 16 February 1834 – 9 August 1919) was a German zoologist, naturalist, eugenicist, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biologist and artist. He discovered, described and named thousands of new sp ...

's Monist League, which aimed to "replace" German churches with the evolutionary theory as a

secular religion A secular religion is a communal belief system that often rejects or neglects the metaphysical aspects of the supernatural, commonly associated with traditional religion, instead placing typical religious qualities in earthly entities. Among system ...

, and attempted to create a branch of popular science grounded in the Christian belief. Andreas W. Daum, ''Wissenschaftspopularisierung im 19. Jahrhundert: Bürgerliche Kultur, naturwissenschaftliche Bildung und die deutsche Öffentlichkeit, 1848–1914''. Munich: Oldenbourg, 1998, , pp. 220–25, 507, including a short biography. In 1901 he introduced the term "

theoretical biology Mathematical and theoretical biology, or biomathematics, is a branch of biology which employs theoretical analysis, mathematical models and abstractions of the living organisms to investigate the principles that govern the structure, development a ...

" to define

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

from a standpoint of concepts and theories, and to differentiate it from traditional "empirical biology". Reinke attempted to explain the process of biological change through a concept of

morphogenesis Morphogenesis (from the Greek ''morphê'' shape and ''genesis'' creation, literally "the generation of form") is the biological process that causes a cell, tissue or organism to develop its shape. It is one of three fundamental aspects of deve ...

and genetic regulation he referred to as the "Dominanten" theory. Among his written works was a book that discussed the relationship of philosophy and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

to science. He died in

Preetz Preetz () is a town southeast of Kiel in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Northern Germany. Preetz is also known as "Schusterstadt" (English: 'shoemaker town') named after shoemakers who used to live and work in this town. Preetz has ...

Selected publications

* ''Entwicklungsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen über die Dictyotaceen des Golfs von Neapel''. Nova Acta Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Germanicae naturae curiosorum, Bd. 40, 1 (1878) * Lehrbuch der allgemeinen Botanik, (Historical research into the development of

Dictyotaceae Dictyotaceae is large family of brown algae (class Phaeophyceae). Members of this family generally prefer warmer waters than other brown algae. ''Lobophora variegata'' (= '' Pocockiella varieagata'') often presents a beautiful blue iridescence ...

from the

Gulf of Naples The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9.3 mi) gulf located along the south-western coast of Italy (province of Naples, Campania region). It opens to the west into the Mediterranean Sea. It i ...

), 1880 * ''Lehrbuch der allgemeinen Botanik'' (Textbook of general botany), 1880 * ''Atlas deutscher Meeresalgen'' (Atlas of German marine algae), 1889 and 1891 * ''Einleitung in der theoretische Biologie'' (Introduction to theoretical biology), 1901, second edition 1910. * ''Philosophie der Botanik'' (Philosophy of botany), 1905 * ''Haeckels Monismus und seine Freunde – ein freies Wort für freie Wissenschaft'' ( Haeckel's

monism Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept e.g., existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished: * Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., i ...

and allies, a free word for free science), 1907 * ''Die Kunst der Weltanschauung'' (The Art of Belief), 1911 * ''Kritik der Abstammungslehre'' (Critique of the theory of evolution), 1920 * ''Naturwissenschaft, Weltanschauung, Religion'', (Science, philosophy, religion), 1923 * ''Das dynamische Weltbild'' (The dynamic world view), 1926 * Wissemann, Volker (2012).
Johannes Reinke: Leben und Werk eines lutherischen Botanikers
'. Volume 26 of Religion, Theologie und Naturwissenschaft / Religion, Theology, and Natural Science. Vandenhoeck & Ruprech. , 9783525570203

References

* * List of publications copied from an article on Johannes Reinke at the German Wikipedia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Reinke, Johannes 1849 births 1931 deaths People from Herzogtum Lauenburg 19th-century German botanists German Christians Phycologists Theoretical biologists University of Göttingen faculty Members of the Prussian House of Lords University of Kiel faculty Vitalists 20th-century German botanists