Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus

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Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus

Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus (born February 4, 1776 in Bremen , † February 16, 1837 in Bremen) was a German doctor and naturalist . He introduced the term biology as a term for the "life sciences".

biography

youth

Treviranus was the son of the merchant Joachim Johann Jacob Treviranus and Catharina Margarethe Talla. His father lost his fortune and became a notary in 1795 and an average dispatcher in 1803 . Treviranus was the oldest of nine siblings. Three of his siblings died shortly after their birth. He broke with the pastoral tradition that had existed for seven generations and turned to the natural sciences, as did his younger brothers Ludolph Christian , who became known as a botanist, and Ludwig Georg , who worked as an engineer on one of the first German steamers.

Forced by his parents to study medicine due to financial considerations, he began studying medicine in 1793 at the University of Göttingen . There he financed his studies by himself and fell ill with tuberculosis in 1794 . However, Treviranus also attended mathematics lectures, whereby it was his original wish to study mathematics. In addition, he showed an interest in natural science and philosophy, he attended lectures with Johann Friedrich Blumenbach and Friedrich Bouterwek . He received his doctorate from Blumenbach in 1796. The title of his dissertation was De emendanda physiologia ("On the improvement of physiology").

Doctors in Bremen

Since his family was in poor financial shape, he turned down a call to the chair of mathematics and returned to Bremen in 1796 as a professor of mathematics and medicine at the illustrious grammar school in Bremen. This position obliged him to give lectures and give treatments to patients in the city hospital. Bremen itself was under the influence of "animal magnetism" as the predominant form of treatment. Treviranus fell in love with Elisabeth Focke while magnetizing. Focke was the daughter of a rich Schottherrn. They married on December 20, 1797 and Elisabeth gave birth to three children.

Basic research

Despite his marriage, Treviranus felt that the medical profession was "very unfortunate", partly because of his own illness. His patients also made his job more difficult for him: "I was indescribably disgusted with the mindless hustle and bustle among so many people, for whom I would have preferred praying and working than medication." He was also dissatisfied with the medical principles of his time:

“ The purpose of medicine is to maintain health and cure diseases. So your theory is based on the knowledge of the healthy and sick body. Both states are different modifications of life. In order to answer that question, we must first identify what life is and therefore ask biology for advice. (Treviranus 1802, p. 9) "

Eventually he turned away from medicine and began basic theoretical research. His main work, Biology, or Philosophy of Living Nature , was written from 1802 to 1822. However, his living conditions deteriorated in these years, he became more and more depressed and lonely. In addition, his family fell ill with tuberculosis and his brother, who always supported him actively, fell ill with typhoid in 1809 . When he took over a professorship in Rostock three years later, personal contact broke off.

In 1810 he visited France and, due to a widespread anti-French mood, wrote about it with mockery and irony. He also met Georges Cuvier , whose achievements he recognized and whose personal contact he enjoyed. Other scientists of his time whom he knew personally were Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), Alexandre Brongniart (1770-1847), Louiche Desfontaines (1750-1833) and Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (1748-1836).

Retreat into private life

Gravestone in the Osterholz cemetery

After the withdrawal of the French troops from Bremen in 1815, Treviranus failed with his political ambitions and withdrew from political and social life. Instead of preparing a new edition of his "Biology", from 1831 to 1833 he wrote a summary of the research results he had developed since the publication of his main work under the title: The phenomena and laws of organic life .

Treviranus died in 1837 of flu during an epidemic in Bremen. He was buried in a cemetery in Bremen that no longer exists today . His tombstone was later put up again in the Osterholz cemetery.

Honors

Work and writings

In his main work "Biology or Philosophy of Living Nature for Natural Scientists and Doctors", published in 1802, Treviranus introduced the term biology, coined by Michael Christoph Hanow in 1766, as a bracket for the spectrum of life sciences that already existed at the time . In the introduction he wrote: “The objects of our investigation will be the various forms and phenomena of life, the conditions and laws under which the state of life takes place and the causes by which it is effected. The science that deals with these subjects we shall call biology or the science of life ”. For Treviranus, biology included reproduction, nutrition, geographic distribution, environment and interactions between body and mind. At the same time and independently of Treviranus, Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck also used and defined the term biology in his publication Hydrogéologie, published in 1802.

Treviranus, who recognized the ability of organisms to adapt to the environment, provided with his work a basis on which the considerations on the evolution of species and humans since the turn of the century were based, which ultimately led to Darwin's epoch-making work on the origin of the Species led.

On the other hand, he was an extremely practical doctor, who in 1800 was among the first to vaccinate smallpox in Germany - just a few years after Edward Jenner's experiments.

Fonts (selection)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Member entry by Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus at the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina , accessed on June 18, 2016.
  2. ↑ Gerabek, Tshisuaka (2005), p. 1419.
  3. ↑ Gerabek, Tshisuaka (2005), p. 1419.
personal data
SURNAME Treviranus, Gottfried Reinhold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German doctor and naturalist
DATE OF BIRTH February 4, 1776
PLACE OF BIRTH Bremen
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 1837
Place of death Bremen