Konstantin Sergejewitsch Mereschkowski
Konstantin Sergejewitsch Mereschkowski ( Russian Константин Сергеевич Мережковский , scientific transliteration Konstantin Sergeevič Merežkovskij ; born August 4, 1855 in Saint Petersburg ; † January 10, 1921 in Geneva ) was a Russian biologist and brother of Sergei Dmitrijkewitsch . Its official botanical author's abbreviation is “ Mereschk. ".
Life
He studied natural sciences at the University of Saint Petersburg and was awarded a doctorate in 1880. phil. PhD. From 1902 to 1914 he worked as a private lecturer and professor of microbiology (?) At the University of Kazan . In 1917 he emigrated to Switzerland .
At the beginning of the 20th century, Mereschkowski (based on the work of the botanist Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper ) formulated the hypothesis that in the course of the evolution of living things, the chloroplasts (components of the plant cell ) originated as independent cyanobacteria and only later became part of the plant cell . The hypothesis was first mentioned in a paper in 1905 and was well received at the time, but was soon forgotten.
An unused idea for a long time, however, through the rediscovery by Lynn Margulis in the 1970s and thereafter as the endosymbiotic theory, it grew into a widely recognized and essentially generally accepted theory today. Most biologists now assume that today's complex cells are composed of less complex components in the course of evolution and that chemical evolution must ultimately be viewed as the starting point for the development of living beings . In this context, Mereschkowski's former hypothesis can be seen as a pioneering achievement.
Despite his anti-Darwinist attitude - according to Mereschkowski's hypothesis of symbiogenesis , evolution is based not on competition but on cooperation - he took positions that are otherwise more associated with social Darwinism . He promoted eugenic and racial hygiene ideas, which for example in his 1903 published novel “The earthly paradise or a winter night's dream. Fairy tales from the 27th century “ find expression.
Fonts (selection)
- C. von Mereschkowsky: The earthly paradise. A fairy tale from the 27th century. A utopia. Translated from the Russian by H. Mordaunt. F. Gottheiner, Berlin 1903.
- C. von Mereschkowsky: About the nature and origin of the chromatophores in the plant kingdom. In: Biological Centralblatt. Vol. 25, No. 18, 1905, ISSN 0006-3304 , pp. 593-604 and No. 21, pp. 689-691 , (In English: William Martin, Klaus Kowallik: Annotated English translation of Mereschkowsky's 1905 paper ' About the nature and origin of the chromatophores in the plant kingdom. In: European Journal of Phycology. Vol. 34, No. 3, 1999, pp. 287-295, doi : 10.1080 / 09670269910001736342 ).
- Константин Сергеевич Мережковский: Теория двух плазм, как основа симбиогенезиса, нививого как основа симбиогенезиса, ноивого ученива, нививого учения нививого как учения, новивого учениво жохахахахахахахахахахахахахахахахахах жохрмо жохахахахахахахахисгисахахрма. типо-лит. Имп. ун-та, Казань 1909, ( The two-plasma theory as the basis of symbiogenesis, a new theory of the origin of organisms. )
Secondary literature
- Armin Geus , Ekkehard Höxtermann (Hrsg.): Evolution through cooperation and integration. On the emergence of the endosymbiosis theory in cell biology. Facsimiles, commentaries and essays (= Acta biohistorica. 11). Basilisken-Presse, Marburg an der Lahn 2007, ISBN 978-3-925347-83-2 .
- Liya Nikolaevna Khakhina: Concepts of Symbiogenesis. A Historical and Critical Study of the Research of the Russian Botanists. Yale University Press, New Haven et al. 1992, ISBN 0-300-04816-5 .
- Thomas Möbius: Criticism of Progress and People Park. Konstantin S. Mereschkowskijs utopia "The earthly paradise". In: Alexander Amberger et al. (Ed.): On Utopia's traces. Utopia and Utopia Research. Festschrift for Richard Saage on his 75th birthday . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2017, pp. 285-302.
- Franz Rottensteiner: Mereschkowsky, C .: The earthly paradise or a winter night's dream. In: ders., Michael Koseler (Hrsg.): Werkführer durch die Utopisch-Fantastische Literatur . Corian-Verlag, Meitingen, 38th Erg.-Lfg. June 2003.
- Jan Sapp: Evolution by Association. A History of Symbiosis. Oxford University Press, New York et al. 1994, ISBN 0-19-508820-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hoimar von Ditfurth : In the beginning there was hydrogen. Hoffmann et al. Campe, Hamburg 1972, ISBN 3-455-01460-7 , pp. 200, 202.
Web links
- Author entry and list of the plant names described for Konstantin Sergejewitsch Mereschkowski at the IPNI
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mereschkowski, Konstantin Sergejewitsch |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Мережковский, Константин Сергеевич; Merežkovskij, Konstantin Sergeevič |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Russian biologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th August 1855 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Petersburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 10, 1921 |
| Place of death | Geneva |