Hermann Müller (botanist)

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Hermann Muller

Heinrich Ludwig Hermann Müller (born September 23, 1829 in Mühlberg ; † August 25, 1883 in Prad am Stilfserjoch ) was a German botanist . Its official botanical author abbreviation is " H.Müll. "

Career

Müller was the son of pastor Johann Friedrich Müller (* December 7, 1794 - November 18, 1875) and the daughter of the pharmacist Johann Bartholomäus Trommsdorff , Martha Caroline Trommsdorff (* October 17, 1799 - February 6, 1843). The botanist and researcher Johann Friedrich Theodor Müller was his older brother. Hermann Müller was married and had three children.

In 1848 he passed the Abitur at the Royal High School (today Ev. Ratsgymnasium) in Erfurt. Then completed a natural science degree at the universities of Halle and Berlin . He was particularly interested in botany , zoology and geology . He passed his exam in 1852.

After completing his doctorate on “Contributions to a natural system of beetles” at the University of Jena (1855), extensive travels in Central Europe and the Alpine region, Müller was initially a substitute teacher in Berlin and Schwerin and from 1855 a teacher , from 1865 a senior teacher and from 1883 a professor at the Realschule ("Natural Science Gymnasium"; today: Ostendorf-Gymnasium) in Lippstadt / Westf.

Services

Initially, his main interest was moss and insects from a systematic point of view. In this phase, the focus was on acquiring knowledge of forms and creating collections, which he also used in school lessons. So around 1855 he investigated the cave fauna (especially eyeless beetles) of the karst caves of Kraina , Carinthia and Istria . After becoming familiar with the works of Darwin , he was particularly concerned with flower biology from a strictly evolutionary point of view. Müller was a highly respected biologist and the most important researcher of pollination biology in the late 19th century; he was an ardent advocate of Darwin's evolutionary idea and correspondent Darwin and therefore also in conflict with the churches.

Although his natural science curriculum was recommended for schools in Prussia in 1866, Müller was increasingly exposed to criticism from both Catholic and conservative sides. It escalated in 1879 after he was accused of indoctrinating his students with anti-religious thoughts, since he had had chapters from the work Werden und Vergehen by the German Darwinist and popular science author Ernst Krause, alias Carus Sterne, read out for a few hours. The matter was even discussed in the Prussian House of Representatives . Müller could only be held by the intervention of the minister responsible. Against defamation of conservative circles, he proceeded through the process; all litigation proceedings ended in his favor. Müller recognized that there are interrelationships between flowers and animals which, via the mechanisms of evolution (mutation and selection), have led to mutual adaptation of both. This fact is called “ coevolution ” today . Darwin wrote about him in a letter: "Hermann Müller is such a precise observer and such a keen thinker that I always hesitate to publish anything if I do not agree with him."

death

dig
Memorial plaque in the north wall of the Church of St. Johann
Grave crosses of the parents in Mühlberg

Müller died of emphysema on August 25, 1883 in Tyrol on a flower biology research trip to the Alps . He is last in an honorary grave in the cemetery at the church of St. John (Prato) . In his former school, a memorial stone and a marble medallion commemorate the important biologist. Among other things, the orchid species Müller's Stendelwurz ( Epipactis muelleri ) was named after him.

Major works

  • The fertilization of flowers by insects and the mutual adaptations of both. A contribution to the knowledge of the causal relationship in nature. - Leipzig 1873. This work was translated into English by the biologist, biomathematist and philologist D'Arcy Thompson while Müller was still alive . The template for this - a book prepared by Hermann Müller for the 2nd edition, made of uncut printed sheets, with marginal notes and supplements, exists. The translation appeared in the year of Müller's death with a foreword by Darwin who wrote: “The value of Müller's book can hardly be overestimated. ... he is an extremely capable judge ... ". Darwin's foreword, written a few weeks before his death, is one of the last texts by the founder of the theory of evolution.
  • The insects as unconscious flower growers. Three articles were published in Kosmos Volume III, Issue 4 ff, 1879. Part 1, pp. 314-337, Part 2, pp. 403-426, Part 3, pp. 476-499.
  • The interrelationships between flowers and the insects that mediate their crossing. In: A. Schenk (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Botanik. First volume (in the Encyclopaedie der Naturwissenschaften I. Abth., I. Part ). Wroclaw 1879.
  • Alpine flowers, their fertilization by insects and their adaptations to them. Leipzig 1881

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andreas W. Daum: Science popularization in the 19th century. Civil culture, scientific education and the German public 1848–1914 . Oldenbourg, Munich 2002, p. 72-74, 78 f., 503 f .
  2. ^ Great-grandson of Hermann Müller, Reinhart Müller

literature

Web links

Commons : Hermann Müller  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Heinrich Ludwig Hermann Müller  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Müller, Hermann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Müller, Heinrich Ludwig Hermann (full name); Müller-Lippstadt, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German botanist
DATE OF BIRTH September 23, 1829
PLACE OF BIRTH Muhlberg
DATE OF DEATH August 25, 1883
Place of death Prad am Stilfserjoch