Wilhelm Johannsen (botanist)

Portrait photo by Johannsen

Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen (born February 3, 1857 in Copenhagen ; † November 11, 1927 ) was a Danish botanist and geneticist . He coined the term “ gene ” as a carrier of inheritance.

Life

Johannsen was born the son of an officer and studied at the University of Copenhagen as well as in Germany and Switzerland. In 1892 he became a lecturer and in 1903 a professor at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen. In 1905 he switched to the chair of plant physiology at the University of Copenhagen, where he was elected rector in 1917.

Johannsen had been a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences since 1898 and was honored with honorary doctorates from several universities (including Lund, Freiburg and Groningen) . In 1916 he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society . In December 1924 he was accepted as an external corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences .

In 1909, Johannsen introduced the term “gene” (from the Greek “give birth”) and the additional terms “ genetic material ” and “ phenotype ” based on the term “ genetics ” coined by William Bateson . He also defined the term population .

Works (selection)

About heredity in populations with pure lines. Gustav Fischer, Jena 1903 ( www.biolib.de ).
Elements of the exact doctrine of heredity. Gustav Fischer, Jena 1909 ( archive.org ).
The genotype conception of heredity. In: The American Naturalist. 45, No. 531, March 1911, JSTOR 2455747 , pp. 129-159.
Arvelighed i historisk and experimentel belysning. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1917.

literature

Boysen Jensen: Johannsen, Wilhelm Ludvig . In: Christian Blangstrup (Ed.): Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon . 2nd Edition. tape 13 : Jernbaneret – Kirkeskat . JH Schultz Forlag, Copenhagen 1922, p. 132-133 (Danish, runeberg.org ).

Web links

Wilhelm Johannsen Center for Functional Genome Research (English)
Short biography and bibliography in the Virtual Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Literature by and about Wilhelm Johannsen in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

↑ Member History: Wilhelm L. Johannsen. American Philosophical Society, accessed October 13, 2018 .
^ Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1724: Johannsen, Wilhelm Ludwig. Soot. Akad. Wiss., Accessed October 13, 2018 (Russian).
↑ Jochen Graw: Genetics. Springer, Berlin; 5th, completely revised edition 2010, ISBN 978-3-642-04998-9 , p. 614.

personal data
SURNAME	Johannsen, Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Johannsen, Wilhelm Ludvig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Danish botanist and geneticist
DATE OF BIRTH	February 3, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH	Copenhagen
DATE OF DEATH	November 11, 1927

[1] Member History: Wilhelm L. Johannsen. American Philosophical Society, accessed October 13, 2018 .

[2] Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1724: Johannsen, Wilhelm Ludwig. Soot. Akad. Wiss., Accessed October 13, 2018 (Russian).

[3] Jochen Graw: Genetics. Springer, Berlin; 5th, completely revised edition 2010, ISBN 978-3-642-04998-9 , p. 614.