Wilhelm Hofmeister
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Friedrich Benedikt Hofmeister (18 May 1824 – 12 January 1877) was a German
biologist
and botanist. He "stands as one of the true giants in the history of biology and belongs in the same pantheon as Darwin
and Mendel
." He was largely self-taught
.
. He left school at the age of 15 and was apprenticed in a bookshop in Hamburg
by an aquintee of his father. He did most of his research in his free-time, largely from four to six in the morning before going to work. Nevertheless, he was only 27 when he published his ground-breaking monograph on the alternation of generations
in plants. Not until 1863, he was employed as a professor. That was at the University of Heidelberg. In 1872, he moved to the University of Tübingen.
Hofmeister is widely credited with discovery of alternation of generations
as a general principle in plant life. His proposal that alternation between haploid and diploid phases constituted a unifying theory of plant evolution
that was published in 1851, eight years before Darwin's
On the Origin of Species.
Hofmeister was an early student of the genetics in plants. He is cited for the first studies of plant embryology
. According to C. D. Darlington
, Hofmeister had observed what would later be called chromosome
s in a dividing cell nucleus as early as 1848. He left detailed sketches which are reproduced in Darlington's The Facts of Life
, though he was not the first to observe them.
In 1869, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
.
Hofmeister's contribution to biology is still far from widely acknowledged. This may partly be attributed to the fact that only one of his works were translated from German
to English
. However, Kaplan & Cooke conclude that "his reputation became eclipsed because he was so far ahead of his contemporaries that no one could understand or appreciate his work".
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
and botanist. He "stands as one of the true giants in the history of biology and belongs in the same pantheon as Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
and Mendel
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel was an Austrian scientist and Augustinian friar who gained posthumous fame as the founder of the new science of genetics. Mendel demonstrated that the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance...
." He was largely self-taught
Autodidacticism
Autodidacticism is self-education or self-directed learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is "learning on your own" or "by yourself", and an autodidact is a person who teaches him or herself something. The term has its roots in the Ancient Greek words αὐτός and διδακτικός...
.
Biography
Hofmeister was the son of a book and music publisher and seller in LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. He left school at the age of 15 and was apprenticed in a bookshop in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
by an aquintee of his father. He did most of his research in his free-time, largely from four to six in the morning before going to work. Nevertheless, he was only 27 when he published his ground-breaking monograph on the alternation of generations
Alternation of generations
Alternation of generations is a term primarily used in describing the life cycle of plants . A multicellular sporophyte, which is diploid with 2N paired chromosomes , alternates with a multicellular gametophyte, which is haploid with N unpaired chromosomes...
in plants. Not until 1863, he was employed as a professor. That was at the University of Heidelberg. In 1872, he moved to the University of Tübingen.
Hofmeister is widely credited with discovery of alternation of generations
Alternation of generations
Alternation of generations is a term primarily used in describing the life cycle of plants . A multicellular sporophyte, which is diploid with 2N paired chromosomes , alternates with a multicellular gametophyte, which is haploid with N unpaired chromosomes...
as a general principle in plant life. His proposal that alternation between haploid and diploid phases constituted a unifying theory of plant evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
that was published in 1851, eight years before Darwin's
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
On the Origin of Species.
Hofmeister was an early student of the genetics in plants. He is cited for the first studies of plant embryology
Embryology
Embryology is a science which is about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage...
. According to C. D. Darlington
C. D. Darlington
Cyril Dean Darlington FRS was an English biologist, geneticist and eugenicist, who discovered the mechanics of chromosomal crossover, its role in inheritance, and therefore its importance to evolution.-Early life:...
, Hofmeister had observed what would later be called chromosome
Chromosome
A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...
s in a dividing cell nucleus as early as 1848. He left detailed sketches which are reproduced in Darlington's The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life (book)
The Facts of Life is a book published in 1953 by C. D. Darlington of the subject of race, heredity and evolution. Darlington was a major contributor to the field of genetics around the time of the Modern synthesis....
, though he was not the first to observe them.
In 1869, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
.
Hofmeister's contribution to biology is still far from widely acknowledged. This may partly be attributed to the fact that only one of his works were translated from German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. However, Kaplan & Cooke conclude that "his reputation became eclipsed because he was so far ahead of his contemporaries that no one could understand or appreciate his work".
Selected works
- Untersuchungen des Vorganges bei der Befruchtung der OenothereenOnagraceaeOnagraceae, also known as the Willowherb family or Evening Primrose family, are a family of flowering plants. The family includes about 640-650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees in 20-24 genera...
. Botanische Zeitung 5: 785-792. 1847. - Die Entstehung des Embryos der Phanerogamen. Eine Reihe mikroskopischer Untersuchungen. Verlag F. Hofmeister, Leipzig 1849.
- Vergleichende Untersuchungen der Keimung, Entfaltung und Fruchtbildung höherer Kryptogamen (Moose, Farne, Equisetaceen, Rhizokarpeen und Lykopodiaceen) und der Samenbildung der Coniferen. 179 pp., 1851 (Reprint: Historiae Naturalis Classica 105. Cramer, Vaduz 1979). English translation (by F. Currey): On the germination, development and fructification of the higher Cryptogamia and on the fructification of the Coniferae. Ray Society, London, 1862.
- Neue Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Embryobildung der Phanerogamen. 1. Dikotyledonen mit ursprünglich einzelligem, nur durch Zellentheilung wachsendem Endosperm. S. Hirzel, Leipzig, pp. 536–672. 1859.
- Neue Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Embryobildung der Phanerogamen. 2. Monokotyledonen. S. Hirzel, Leipzig, pp. 632–760. 1861.
- Die Lehre von der Pflanzenzelle. In: W. Hofmeister (ed.): Handbuch der Physiologischen Botanik I-1. 664 pp. W. Engelmann, Leipzig. 1867.
- Allgemeine Morphologie der Gewächse. In: W. Hofmeister (ed.): Handbuch der Physiologischen Botanik I-2. W. Engelmann, Leipzig. 1868.