Wilhelm Daniel Joseph Koch

Wilhelm Daniel Joseph Koch (born March 5, 1771 in Kusel , † November 14, 1849 in Erlangen ) was a German botanist and physician. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " WDJKoch ".

Live and act

Koch attended high school in Two Bridges and studied from 1790 to 1794 in Jena and Marburg Medicine and received the 1795 Physikat to Trarbach and 1798 that of Kaiserslautern . During his studies in 1790 he became a member of the Constantist Order , in which he was also consenior for a time . On July 4, 1794, he received his doctorate in Giessen and after passing the state examination, Koch wanted to start his career as a general practitioner. But on July 26, 1794, the city was sacked and burned by French revolutionary troops. Koch's books, manuscripts etc. were also burned. In 1795 he became a doctor in Trarbach an der Mosel and in 1797 a senior medical officer in Kaiserslautern, where he was awarded the title of district and canton doctor in 1816 and stayed there.

At that time, however, he was also active in botanical fields. At first he published "Entomologische Hefte" (Frankfurt 1803, 2 Lfgn.), But then he wrote a flora of the Palatinate with Zitz: Catalogus plantarum florae palatinae (1814), and took care of the new edition of Röhling's "Deutschlands Flora". In 1824 he was appointed professor of medicine and botany in Erlangen, where he was also director of the Erlangen Botanical Garden until his death . His main work is the "Synopsis florae germanicae et helveticae" (Frankfurt am Main 1837; 3rd edition Leipzig 1857), which is also available as an excerpt as a "pocket book of the German and Swiss. Flora ”(8th edition by Ernst Hallier, that. 1881) appeared.

On his 50th anniversary as a doctor in 1844, he received the title of Privy Councilor and the Swedish North Star Order the following year .

Public offices

Koch served as President of the District Council of Middle Franconia from 1833 to 1843 .

Honors

In his honor were the genera Kochia Roth and Neokochia (Ulbr.) GLChu & SCSand. named from the plant family of the foxtail plants (Amaranthaceae).

The magazine Kochia , published since 2006 by the Society for Research into the Flora of Germany , is also named after Koch.

In 1821 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina .

literature

Ernst Wunschmann: Koch, Wilhelm . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 16, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, pp. 402-405.
Ludwig Döderlein : Words on the grave of Mr. Wilhelm Daniel Joseph Koch , JJ Barfuß, Erlangen 1849, digitized

Web links

Author entry and list of the plant names described for Wilhelm Daniel Joseph Koch at the IPNI
Works by and about Wilhelm Daniel Joseph Koch in the German Digital Library

Individual evidence

↑ Karl Hoede: Boys out. As a reminder of the origins of the old boyhood. Frankfurt am Main 1962, p. 55.
↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]

personal data
SURNAME	Koch, Wilhelm Daniel Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German botanist
DATE OF BIRTH	March 5, 1771
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kusel
DATE OF DEATH	November 14, 1849
Place of death	gain

[1] Karl Hoede: Boys out. As a reminder of the origins of the old boyhood. Frankfurt am Main 1962, p. 55.

[Burkhardt2018-2] Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]