Johann Heinrich Robert Göppert (25 July 1800 – 18 May 1884) was a German

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

Career

He was born in Sprottau,

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

, and died at Breslau. In 1831, he became a professor of botany, as well as

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of the

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

s in Breslau. In 1852, he became director of the botanical gardens. He is particularly known for his work in

paleobotany Paleobotany or palaeobotany, also known as paleophytology, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant fossils from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments ( pal ...

, being the author of many articles in this field. Göppert performed extensive research on the formation of coal and

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

, and also conducted comparison studies between existing and fossil flora. In 1840, he demonstrated existence of

plant cell Plant cells are the cells present in Viridiplantae, green plants, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Their distinctive features include primary cell walls containing cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectin, the presence of plastids ...

s in microscopic preparations of

hard coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the highe ...

, which concluded a long-lasting debate on the origin of coal. His private collection of specimens of fossil flora was considered the finest in the world. Goeppert issued a series of thin sections, namely ''Arboretum fossile, Sammlung von Dünnschliffen fossiler Coniferenhölzer der palaeozoischen Formation'' (1881). This work has certain characteristics in common with an

exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...

. He was the father of a notable lawyer, Heinrich Robert Göppert, grandfather of Friedrich Göppert, and great-grandfather of

Maria Goeppert-Mayer Maria Goeppert Mayer (; ; June 28, 1906 – February 20, 1972) was a German-American theoretical physicist who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics with J. Hans D. Jensen and Eugene Wigner. One half of the prize was awarded jointly to Goeppe ...

(Nobel Prize in physics, 1963). In 1861, he became foreign member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

. In 1862, he was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. Göppert was a critic of

Darwinism ''Darwinism'' is a term used to describe a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others. The theory states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural sel ...

. In 1864 and 1865, he published papers criticising

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

's theory of

common descent Common descent is a concept in evolutionary biology applicable when one species is the ancestor of two or more species later in time. According to modern evolutionary biology, all living beings could be descendants of a unique ancestor commonl ...

from research in botanical palaeontology.Frederick, Burkhardt. (2004). ''The Correspondence of Charles Darwin:, Volume 14; Volume 1866''. Cambridge University Press. p. 30. Pomnik Heinrich Goeppert Szprotawa

Selected writings

* ''Die fossilen Farnkräuter'' (On fossil

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s) - (1836). * ''De floribus in statu fossili'' (1837). * ''De coniferarum structura anatomica'' (Anatomical structure of

conifers Conifers () are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All e ...

) - (1841). * ''Die Gattungen der fossilen Pflanzen, verglichen mit denen der Jetztzeit'' (Types of the fossil plants, and comparison to those of the present) - (1841–42). * ''Ueber die chemischen Gegengifte, zum Gebrauche für Ärzte, Wundärzte und Pharmaceuten, so wie für academische Vorlesungen : mit 1 Tab.'' . Max, Berlin 2. Ausg. 184
Digital edition
by the

University and State Library Düsseldorf The University and State Library Düsseldorf (, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of the three State Libraries of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

. * ''Der Bernstein und die in ihm befindlichen Pflanzenreste der Vorwelt'' (with

Georg Karl Berendt Georg Karl (or Carl) Berendt (13 July 1790 – 4 January 1850) was a German physician and paleontologist who was a native of Danzig. He studied medicine and botany at the University of Königsberg, and from 1814 practiced medicine in Danzig. He ...

, 1845). * ''Abhandlungen über die Entstehung der Steinkohlenlager aus Pflanzen'' (1848). * ''Abhandlung über die Beschaffenheit der fossilen Flora in verschiedenen Steinkohlenablagerungen eines und desselben Reviers'' (Condition of fossil flora in different hard coal deposits) - (1849). * ''Monographie der fossilen Koniferen, verglichen mit denen der Jetztwelt'' (Monograph on fossil conifers) - (1850). * ''Beiträge zur Tertiärflora Schlesiens'' (Contributions to

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

flora in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

) (1852). * ''Die Tertiärflora von Schoßnitz in Schlesien'' (Tertiary flora of Schossnitz) (1855). * ''Die Tertiärflora auf der Insel Java'' (Tertiary flora of the Island of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

) (1855). * ''Über die fossile Flora der silurischen, der devonischen und der untern Kohlenformation'' (Fossil flora of the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

Periods in regards to coal formation) - (1860). * ''Die fossile Flora der permischen Formation'' (Fossil flora of mixed formation) (1864–65). * ''Über Aphyllostachys, eine neue fossile Pflanzengattung, sowie über das Verhältnis der fossilen Flora zu Darwins Transmutationstheorie'' (

Phyllostachys ''Phyllostachys'' ( is a genus of Asian bamboo in the grass family. Many of the species are found in central and southern China, with a few species in northern Indochina and in the Himalayas. Some of the species have become naturalized in part ...

, a new fossil type; on the relationship of fossil flora to Darwin's theory of transmutation) - (1866).

References

* "This article is based on a translation of text from an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

External links

* 1800 births 1884 deaths People from Szprotawa Scientists from the Province of Silesia 19th-century German botanists Academic staff of the University of Breslau German paleontologists Paleobotanists Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Recipients of the Cothenius Medal {{Germany-botanist-stub