Friedrich Thomas (botanist)

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Friedrich Thomas

Friedrich August Wilhelm Thomas (born November 22, 1840 in Gotha , † December 19, 1918 in Ohrdruf ) was a German botanist .

Together with Ewald Heinrich Rübsaamen (1857-1919) and Diederich Hermann Reinhard Schlechtendal (1834-1916) he is one of the most important German gall researchers ( cecidology ) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Thomas introduced the term “cecidium” into gall research. His botanical author abbreviation is " F.Thomas ".

Life

Friedrich Thomas was the youngest child of the trimmers Johann Christoph Thomas. From 1850 to Easter 1858 he attended the Ernestinum Gotha high school and then studied natural sciences at the University of Jena . Due to his poor health, he had to interrupt his studies after one semester and was only able to resume after a one-year vacation. After three more semesters, he moved to Berlin University for two years , where he obtained his doctorate on July 11, 1863 on the anatomical structure of the conifer leaf . In Jena he attended lectures on botany from Schleiden and in Berlin lectures from Braun on botany, from Peters on zoology and from Pringsheim on plant anatomy . From 1863 until his retirement at Easter 1905 he was a member of the teachers' college at the Gymnasium Gleichense in Ohrdruf.

Thomas had been married to Bertha Hederich († November 1915), daughter of the pharmacist Hederich in Gotha, since May 30, 1865. There were two sons from the marriage: Ernst, who died at the age of six, and Paul, an employee at the Reich Institute for Weights and Measures in Berlin.

Honors

Friedrich Thomas was holder of the Ducal Saxon Knight's Cross, 2nd class, and was awarded the Golden Carl Eduard Medal for Art and Science in 1913. For the 25th anniversary of the Thuringian Botanical Association, he was made an honorary member in 1908 and an honorary member of the Botanical Association of the Province of Brandenburg in October 1914. He was appointed a member of the Leopoldina for the botany section on April 29, 1876 .

The following taxa were named after him: the species Aceria thomasi ( Nalepa , 1889), Colopelma thomasii ( Löw , 1888), Dasineura thomasiana ( Kieffer , 1888), Eriophyes thomasi (Nalepa, 1899) and the genus Thomasiella (Rübsaamen, 1915).

Works (selection)

Hermann Harms lists 206 publications for Friedrich Thomas in his Nekrolog.

  • De foliorum frondosorum Coniferarum structura anatomica . PhD thesis inauguralis phytotomica. Typis expressit Gustavus Schade, Berolini 1863 (Latin, hathitrust.org ).
  • List of writings on German zoocecidia and cecidozoa up to and including 1906 . In: Ew. H. Rübsaamen , H. Hedicke (Hrsg.): The Zoocecidien, plant galls produced by animals in Germany and their inhabitants . tape 1 , 1st delivery. E. Schweizbartsche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1911, p. 1-104 .
  • The Elisabeth Linné phenomenon (so-called flashing of blossoms) and its interpretations . For inspiration and education, initially for botanists and flower lovers. With a small color plate. Gustav Fischer, Jena 1914.

literature

  • Hermann Harms : Friedrich Thomas . In: Reports of the German Botanical Society . 36th year, II. General assembly booklet. Bornträger Brothers, Berlin 1919, p. (122) - (137) ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Wilhelm Hubenthal : Friedrich Thomas † . In: Heinrich Bickhardt (Ed.): Entomologische Blätter . Journal for the biology and systematics of beetles with a special focus on forest entomology. 15th year. Fritz Pfenningstorff, Berlin 1919, p. 87-88 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thomas, Friedrich August Wilhelm (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German botanist
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH Gotha
DATE OF DEATH December 19, 1918
Place of death Ohrdruf