Christian Heinrich Pander

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pander in old age. After a lost oil painting by Julie Wilhelmine Hagen-Schwarz from the Riga Cathedral Museum

Christian Heinrich Pander , also Heinz Christian Pander , Latvian Kristiāns Heinrihs fon Pander (born July 12 . Jul / 23. July  1794 greg. In Riga , † September 10 jul. / 22. September  1865 greg. In St. Petersburg ) , was a Baltic German physician, embryologist , zoologist and paleontologist . He developed the revolutionary cotyledon model as a fundamental model in embryology, dealt with "evolution" and for the first time interpreted conodonts , enigmatic key fossils, as vertebrates.

Life

Origin and years of study

Christian Heinrich von Pander came from a German merchant family in Riga. His father was the wealthy banker Johann Martin Pander (1765–1842), his grandfather a well-known businessman. Pander attended the German-speaking grammar school in Riga and studied medicine at the German-speaking Dorpater University from 1812 to 1814 , where he heard the anatomist and physiologist Karl Friedrich Burdach and became friends with Karl Ernst von Baer . After studying in Berlin and Göttingen from 1814 on, he obtained his doctorate in 1817 at the University of Würzburg under Ignaz Döllinger , where he had enrolled in 1816.

Research on embryology

With his dissertation from 1817 in Würzburg, Pander founded the germ leaf concept, which is still used in embryology today. This model describes embryogenesis as the development of three cotyledons, the ecto-, meso- and endoderm (still called serous leaf, vascular leaf and mucous leaf by Pander). Together with Döllinger and the important draftsman and anatomist Joseph Eduard d'Alton, he had incubated 2,000 chicken eggs in an incubator, opened them and described them systematically at defined intervals. Pander's dissertation is available in two completely different versions: the Latin describes the development of the entire organism in the first 5 or 7 days ( Dissertatio inauguralis, sistens historiam metamorphoseos, quam ovum incubatum prioribus quinque diebus subit ), the German describes the parallel development of the individual Organs or organ systems ( contributions to the development history of the chicken in the eye ). The Latin version has no illustrations, the German version contains the artistically important copper engravings by d'Alton.

With the evidence of a development from cotyledons , Pander achieved the decisive scientific breakthrough for embryological research: Embryonic development was neither the unfolding of what was already there ( preformation ), nor formation from the unformed ( epigenesis ), but the development of differentiating membranes (i.e. metamorphosis) term borrowed from Goethe). Pander's cotyledon model was further expanded by Baer in his important embryological monograph on the evolutionary history of animals (2 vols. Königsberg 1828/1837) and transferred to other animal groups, including humans. Baer's book was dedicated to the “childhood friends Pander”.

Comparative anatomy research

Together with Eduard d'Alton , Pander went on a study trip to southern and western Europe (Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Great Britain, France) in 1818/1819. Here collections and museums were visited, including the extinct South American giant sloth ( Megatherium ) reconstructed in Madrid , and the comparative anatomy of invertebrates (cephalopods) studied on the coasts of the sea. The purpose of the trip was to study comparative anatomy (especially mammals and birds), a work that resulted in 14-volume comparative osteology . In addition to the meticulous description, the theoretical passages are of interest, in which Pander and d'Alton reflect on the unlimited variability of species (caused by changed food habits, climate change, etc.). To reconstruct the behavior of extinct animals, they used their recent closest relatives. It is no longer possible to differentiate between which text passages are from Pander and which from d'Alton. Individual volumes of comparative osteology were praised by Goethe, who was a personal friend of d'Alton. Even Charles Darwin mentioned the first band of the work as a "precursor" in his Origin of Species .

In 1820 Pander took part with Georg von Meyendorff and Eduard Friedrich Eversmann as a scientific companion on a Russian expedition from Orenburg to Bukhara in Central Asia . In 1825 he married Amalie Wilhelmine von Scherer (1805–1861?). In 1826 he was appointed councilor.

Late years - research on paleontology and geology

In 1827 Pander left the academy and became a private scholar in St. Peterburg. Between 1833 and 1844, from his Livonian estate in Carnikava ( Koivemunde ) , Pander researched the fossils in the bank sediments of the Gauja ( Livonian Aa ).

From 1844 he worked as an official for special research assignments at the mining department in St. Petersburg.

1856 described Pander responsible for the stratigraphy as index fossil important group of fossil conodonts first time scientifically. The nature of these mysterious fossils, which were also interpreted as "worms", was controversial for a long time and has not been conclusively clarified to this day despite new discoveries that at least hint at the outline of the soft body. In any case, contrary to Pander's assumption, these are not “teeth” (jaw structures) of “fish” (chordating).

death

Christian Heinrich von Pander had been suffering from a serious, “febrile”, unknown disease, perhaps malaria, since the early 1820s. He died in St. Petersburg in September 1865.

meaning

Today, little-known Christian Heinrich von Pander is one of the most innovative natural scientists of the early 19th century. He formulated an embryological model that is still valid today, considered unlimited species change to be a given as early as the 20s of the 19th century, and presented fundamental studies on paleozoic fish and tank fish. Due to its first description of the conodonts, but above all its germ leaf concept, it has been of outstanding importance for over its century.

To Christian Heinrich Pander some scientific eponyms remember: the Upper Devonian coelacanth genus of Panderichthys (a transitional form between fish and land vertebrates), the genus Panderia (goosefoot, Chenopodiaceae ), the brachiopods Panderina and Panderschen organs in trilobites .

Afterlife

The British Pander Society , which is dedicated to the study of conodonts, is named after the first descriptor. It awards the Pander Medal for a lifetime achievement in conodont research . Its members use self-deprecatingly to refer to themselves as "the Panderers".

Honors

In 1826 he received the Order of St. Vladimir IV class. In 1857 Pander was awarded the Demidow Prize , one of the most important and oldest Russian scientific awards.

Memberships

  • 1818 Imperial Leopoldine-Carolinian Academy of Natural Scientists ( Leopoldina ), member of zoology
  • 1820 Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, adjunct for zoology
  • 1823 Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, extraordinary member
  • 1826 Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, full member for zoology (resigned in 1827)

Fonts

Drawing of the chicken embryo from contributions to the development history of the chicken in the eye (panel VIII)

Embryological writings

  • Dissertatio inauguralis sistens historiam metamorphoseos quam ovum incubatum prioribus quinque diebus subit. Würzburg 1817. (Pander's Latin dissertation) Archives
  • Contributions to the development history of the chicken in the eye , Würzburg 1817 (German dissertation Panders with Stichen d'Altons) Archive
  • Les textes embryologiques de Christian Heinrich Pander (1794–1865) (edited and commented by Stéphane Schmitt). Brepols, Turnhout 2003, ISBN 2-503-52180-0 (trilingual new edition of the embryological texts: Dissertatio inauguralis sistens historiam metamorphoseos quam ovum incubatum prioribus quinque diebus subit and contributions on the development history of the chicken , each in the Latin and German original with French translation) .

Comparative anatomical writings

  • (with Eduard Joseph d'Alton ) Comparative Osteology , 14 volumes, Bonn: Weber, 1821–1838 Archives
    • Volume I, 1: The giant sloth, Bradypus giganteus, illustrated, described and compared with the related sexes , Bonn 1821 (according to EJ d'Alton)
    • Volume I, 2: The skeletons of the Pachydermata , Bonn 1821 (together with EJ d'Alton)
    • Volume I, 3: The skeletons of the carnivores , Bonn 1822 (together with EJ d'Alton)
    • Volume I, 4: The skeletons of the ruminants , Bonn 1823 (together with EJ d'Alton)
    • Volumes I, 5 and I, 6: The skeletons of rodents (part 1 and 2), Bonn 1823, 1824 (together with EJ d'Alton)
    • Volume I, 7: Die Skelete der Vierhänder , Bonn 1824 (together with EJ d'Alton)
    • Volume I, 8: The skeletons of the toothless animals , Bonn 1825 (together with EJ d'Alton)
    • Volume I, 9: The skeletons of seals and lamantines , Bonn 1826 (together with EJ d'Alton)
    • Volume I, 10: The skeletons of the cetaceans , Bonn 1827 (together with EJ d'Alton)
    • Volume I, 11: The skeletons of the pouch animals , Bonn 1828 (together with EJ d'Alton)
    • Volume I, 12: The skeletons of the chiropters and insectivors , Bonn 1831 (only from the two d'Altons, father and son)
    • Volume II, 1: The skeletons of the ostrich-like birds , Bonn 1827 (only from Eduard d'Alton the Younger)
    • Volume II, 2: The skeletons of the birds of prey , Bonn 1838 (only from the two d'Altons)

Geological-paleontological writings

  • Contributions to natural history from the Baltic provinces of Russia , Dorpat 1820 archive
  • Contributions to the geognosy of the Russian Empire , St. Petersburg 1830
  • Fossil Fish of the Russian-Baltic Governments , several volumes, St. Petersburg: Academy of Sciences, 1856–1860
    • Volume 1: Monograph of the fossil fish of the Silurian system of the Russian-Baltic Governorate , St. Petersburg 1856
    • Volume 2: About the placoderms of the Devonian system , St. Petersburg 1857
    • Volume 3: About the Ctenodipterines of the Devonian System , St. Petersburg 1858 Archives
    • Volume 4: About the Saurodipterinen, Dendrodonts, Glyptolepiden and Cheirolepiden of the Devonian System , St. Petersburg 1860

literature

  • Adolf Erman: About Doctor CH Pander's palaeographic and geological work . In: Archives for the scientific customer of Russia, Vol. 18. Berlin 1859, pp. 384–445.
  • Wilhelm Lubosch: About Pander and D'Alton's comparative osteology of mammals. A chapter from natural philosophy . In: Flora or general botanical newspaper NF 11-12 (1918), pp. 668-702.
  • Ernst Loesch: Heinrich Christian Pander, his life and his works. A biographical study . In: Biologisches Zentralblatt Vol. 40 (1920) No. 11/12, pp. 481-502.
  • Heinrich von Knorre: 17 letters from Christian Heinrich Pander (1794-1865) to Karl Ernst von Baer (1792-1876) . In: Giessener Abhandlungen zur Agrar- und Wirtschaftsforschung des Europäische Osts, Vol. 59 (1973), pp. 89–116.
  • Boris Evgenjewitsch Raikow : Christian Heinrich Pander, an important biologist and evolutionist . Frankfurt am Main: Kramer, 1984 (= Senckenberg-Buch , 62), ISBN 3-7829-1097-4 (Russian: Христиан Пандер - выдающийся биолог-эволюционист. Москва 1964).
  • Stéphane Schmitt: Christian Heinrich Pander (1794-1865): du développement à l'évolution . In: Bulletin d'histoire et d'épistémologie des sciences de la vie Vol. 9 (2002) No. 2, pp. 133-146.
  • Stéphane Schmitt: From eggs to fossils: epigenesis and transformation of species in Pander's biology . The International Journal of Developmental Biology Vol. 49 (2005), pp. 1-8.
  • Andreas Mettenleiter : Testimonials, memories, diaries and letters from German-speaking doctors. Supplements and supplements III (I – Z). In: Würzburg medical history reports. Volume 22, 2003, pp. 269-305, here: p. 283.
  • Thomas Schmuck: Baltic Genesis. The foundation of embryology in the 19th century . Aachen 2009 (= Relationes Vol. 2) (about Pander: pp. 84–114).
  • Thomas Schmuck: Metamorphoses. Christian Heinrich Pander (1794-1865) and evolution. In: O. Riha, M. Fischer (ed.): Natural sciences as a communication space. Aachen 2011 (= Relationes Vol. 6), pp. 369–398.
  • Ortrun Riha , Thomas Schmuck: Of Bones and Beasts: Christian Heinrich von Pander (1794-1865) on Transformation of Species. (online: http://shb.nw.ru/ru/readers/archive_ru/%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC-4-2/of-bones-and-beasts-christian-heinrich-von- pander-1794-1865-on-transformation-of-species / #. XlYqlUFCeMq )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Entry in the baptismal register of the Riga Cathedral. In: State Historical Archive of Latvia Raduraksti. Retrieved September 27, 2011 .
  2. ^ The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. Geological Society of London. The Society, 1866. S. XXXVII.
  3. ^ Andreas Mettenleiter: Personal reports, memories, diaries and letters from German-speaking doctors. Supplements and supplements III (I – Z). In: Würzburg medical history reports. Volume 22, 2003, pp. 269-305, here: p. 283.
  4. ↑ Alain Blieck, Susan Turner, Carole Burrow, Hans-Peter Schultze, Carl Rexroad and others. a .: Fossils, histology, and phylogeny: Why conodonts are not vertebrates . In: Episodes. Journal of international geosciences , Vol. 33 (2010), No. 4, pp. 234-241.
  5. ↑ Demidow Prize Winner. Russian Лауреаты Демидовской премии . In: Website of the Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved September 27, 2011 (Russian): “1857 Пандер Х.Г. География "
personal data
SURNAME Pander, Christian Heinrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pander, Christian Heinrich von (full name); Panders, Kristiāns Heinrihs fon (Latvian spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Baltic German zoologist and paleontologist
DATE OF BIRTH July 23, 1794
PLACE OF BIRTH Riga
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 1865
Place of death St. Petersburg