Karl Heinrich Koch

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Karl Heinrich Koch, undated lithograph by Georg Ludwig Engelbach (1817–1894)

Karl Heinrich Emil Koch (born June 6, 1809 on the Ettersberg in Ettersburg near Weimar ; † May 25, 1879 in Berlin ) was a German botanist and is considered one of the founders of dendrology . Its official botanical author abbreviation is " K.Koch "; earlier the abbreviation " C. Koch " was also in use.

Live and act

Koch attended grammar school in Weimar and studied medicine in Jena from 1829 to 1831 , then botany in Würzburg until 1833 . After he became Dr. med. and in 1834 Dr. phil. he took up a position as a private lecturer for botany in Jena and was appointed associate professor in 1836 .

From 1836 to 1838 he undertook research trips to the Caucasus . Also in 1843 he broke with the linguist Georg Rosen jun. went on a trip to the Caucasus, from which he returned to Jena in 1844.

In 1847, Koch and his family moved to Berlin, hoping for a botanical career, but initially only with support that the Prussian king had promised for two years. He worked on the publication of his travel results and wrote books and essays in great numbers. From the beginning of 1849 he was left with a large family but no income. His applications for several professorships that subsequently became vacant were rejected. In 1850 he completed his habilitation in Berlin .

What followed was a financially tough time for him, in which Koch had no regular income. Only from 1855 did his situation improve. Hermann Steudner was welcomed by him like a son. They remained close friends until Steudner's death.

Koch was elected Secretary General of the Association for the Promotion of Horticulture in 1852. He advised Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau on his plan to create a second landscape park in Branitz from nowhere . Also in 1852 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina .

From 1853 he was employed at the Botanical Garden in Berlin , although not as an adjunct as he had hoped , but as "assistant to the director". For several years his task was the taxonomic revision of the plant population. From 1853 he published his results in the annual Index Seminum of the Berlin Botanical Garden.

Since the beginning of the 1860s, Koch read " on behalf of the Minister of Agricultural Affairs " at the " agricultural teaching institute " set up by Carl Schulz-Fleeth in Berlin on " agricultural botany ".

Despite concerns of the philosophical faculty of the Berlin university Koch was at the request of the minister of culture Heinrich von Mühler in mid-March 1864 by the king " appointed extraordinary professor in the philosophical faculty in Berlin ". In this capacity, however, from July 1866 he only received a salary of 300 thalers a year, because, in the opinion of the Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs, Koch's “ activity has predominantly taken the direction of the practical and has achieved laudable successes in this area; for the university, however, its effectiveness cannot be rated highly and its influence is essentially limited to the students of the agricultural teaching institute. "

Dendrology and pomology were among his focal points within botany . But he was also interdisciplinary in the fields of ethnology , anthropology , archeology , cartography , geology , horticulture and cultivar science.

Karl Heinrich Koch died in Berlin in 1879, two weeks before his 70th birthday, and was buried in the Old St. Matthew Cemetery in Schöneberg . The grave has not been preserved.

Fonts

  • The natural system of the plant kingdom demonstrated in the flora of Jena. First and Second Section. Carl Hochhausen, Jena 1839, ( digitized ).
  • with Ernst Erhard Schmid : The footprints in the colorful sandstones near Jena. Carl Hochhausen, Jena 1841, ( digitized ).
  • Wanderings in the Orient during 1843 and 1844. I: Journey along the Danube to Constantinople and Trebisond. Landes-Industrie-Comptoirs, Weimar 1846, ( digitized version ).
  • Walks in the Orient during 1843 and 1844. II: Journey in the Pontic Mountains and Turkish Armenia. Landes-Industrie-Comptoirs, Weimar 1846, ( digitized version ).
  • Wanderings in the Orient, during the years 1843 and 1844. III: Journey to Grusia, the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus. Landes-Industrie-Comptoirs, Weimar 1847, ( digitized ).
  • Hortus dendrologicus. Directory of trees, shrubs and subshrubs that are found in Europe, North and Central Asia, the Himalayas and North America grow wild and possibly perennial outdoors in Central Europe; according to the natural system and with indication of all synonyms, such as the fatherland, listed and provided with an alphabetical register. Schneider, Berlin 1853, ( digitized version ).
  • The botanical gardens. One word at a time. Riegel, Berlin 1860, ( digitized version ).
  • Lectures on dendrology. Held in Berlin in the winter of 1874/75. In three parts. 1) History of the Gardens. 2) Structure and life of the tree, as well as its relationship to people and climate. 3) The conifers or conifers. Ferdinand Enke, Stuttgart 1875, ( digitized ).
  • The German fruit trees. Lectures held in Berlin in the winter of 1875/76. In two parts. 1) History and natural history of the German fruit trees. 2) Selection of the types of fruit recommended for general cultivation. Ferdinand Enke, Stuttgart 1876, ( digitized ).

literature

  • Ernst Wunschmann:  Koch, Karl . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 16, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, pp. 395-398.
  • Andreas Mettenleiter : Testimonials, memories, diaries and letters from German-speaking doctors. Supplements and supplements III (I – Z). In: Würzburg medical history reports. Vol. 22, 2003, ISSN  0177-5227 , pp. 269-305, here p. 273.
  • Eduard Lucas : Prof. Dr. Karl Koch. Biographical sketch, with portrait. In: Illustrirte monthly books for fruit and viticulture. Vol. 8, 1872, pp. 1-19.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl Heinrich Koch: Journey through Russia to the Caucasian isthmus in the years 1836, 1837 and 1838. 2 volumes. Cotta, Stuttgart et al. 1843.
  2. ↑ GStA PK I. HA Rep. 89 No. 21484, fol. 188 BC
  3. ↑ GStA PK I. HA Rep. 89 No. 21484, fol. 190 r
  4. ↑ GStA PK I. HA Rep. 89 No. 21485, fol. 12 r
  5. ^ Hans-Jürgen Mende: Lexicon of Berlin tombs . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2006. p. 304.
personal data
SURNAME Koch, Karl Heinrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Koch, Karl Heinrich Emil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German botanist
DATE OF BIRTH June 6, 1809
PLACE OF BIRTH Ettersburg near Weimar
DATE OF DEATH May 25, 1879
Place of death Berlin