Hermann von Liebig

This article deals with the agricultural scientist Hermann von Liebig. For the clergyman and writer see Hermann Liebig .

Family coat of arms of the baronial house of Liebig

Hermann von Liebig (born February 3, 1831 in Giessen , † September 2, 1894 in Munich ), Justus von Liebig's second oldest son , was a German agricultural scientist . He came from the old Liebig family from the Odenwald .

From 1851 he studied chemistry at the Universities of Giessen and Munich, but soon discovered his love for agriculture, stimulated by his father's work on agricultural chemistry . In 1854 he continued his studies at the Agricultural Central School in Weihenstephan. In 1855 he went on a study trip to England and Scotland lasting several months . In 1857 he worked as a land manager in Hungary . In 1858 he acquired Gut Schorn near Starnberg, which he managed himself. Since 1865 he also worked at the agricultural research station in Munich . In 1875 he sold his estate and devoted himself entirely to questions of scientific farming.

Hermann von Liebig, who always vigorously advocated the agricultural chemistry teachings of his father, mainly dealt with problems related to fertilizer theory . Through several, sometimes critical publications in specialist journals and through two book publications, he has made a decisive contribution to clarifying controversial questions about the effectiveness of mineral fertilizers. He translated two agricultural textbooks by the English agricultural chemist Samuel W. Johnson .

family

Liebig married Anna Frank on April 7, 1862 in Munich (* March 20, 1841; † April 8, 1902). The marriage ended in divorce in 1871. From marriage comes:

• Eugen (1868–1925), director of the supervisory office for private insurance

After his divorce he married Auguste Linder (born October 30, 1853) in Dinkelsbühl in 1873 . From marriage comes:

• Hans (1874–1931), Dr. phil., chemist, politician

Fonts

• The appropriate use of artificial fertilizers together with an appendix: via experimental economics as a supplement to the experimental stations . Braunschweig 1867.
• Management of the Schleissheim state estate since 1816. Evidence of the inability of the Thaers school to continuously increase the yield of the land, and the impoverishment of the soil as a result of this false doctrine. A study . Munich 1869.

literature

• Ewald Wollny: Hermann Freiherr von Liebig † . In: Fühling's Landwirthschaftliche Zeitung vol. 43, 1894, pp. 685–686.
• Otto May: Hermann Freiherr von Liebig † . In: Journal of the agricultural association in Bavaria, vol. 84, 1894, pp. 723–725.
• Georg Lehnert: Hermann Georg Freiherr von Liebig, agricultural chemist . In: Hessische Biographien Bd. 3, 1934, pp. 377-380 (with a list of his publications).
• Liebig, Hermann Georg Freiherr von. Hessian biography. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).