Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg

Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (April 19th 1795 - June 27th 1876), is a Naturaliste and German zoologist , specialist in Comparative anatomy and Microscopie.

Wire of a judge, Ehrenberg is born with Delitzsch, close to Leipzig. He studies initially the Théologie then the Médecine and the Natural science with Berlin or he becomes a friend of the famous explorer Alexander von Humboldt. In 1818 it supplements its doctoral essay on a mushroom, Sylvae mycologicae Berolinenses . Of 1802 with 1825, during an scientific exhibition with the the Middle East it collects hundreds of specimens of Plante S and animal. He visits certain areas of the Egypt, the desert of Libya, the valley of the the Nile and the northern coast of the Red Sea where he studies in particular the corals. He continues these voyages by the Syria, the Arabia and the Abyssinie. Certain object codes of these voyages and important of samples are reported by Humboldt in 1826. On its return Ehrenberg publishes several articles on the Insecte S and the corals like two volumes Symbelae physicae (1828 - 1834) or certain characteristics of Mammifère S and Oiseau X are deferred. Other communications are addressed to the learned societies. In 1829 it accompanies Humboldt by the Russia of the east at the Chinese border . Returned in Germany it concentrates on the study of the microscopic organizations which, until now, were never studied systematically.

During nearly 30 years Ehrenberg examines samples of water, ground, sediments and rocks, which enables him to describe several hundreds of new species, inter alia Flagellé S such as the Euglena , of the ciliés : Paramecium aurelia and Paramecium caudatum and a great number of tiny Fossil S, which it describes in nearly 400 publications. It is particularly interested by a group of the Protiste S: the Diatom S, but he also studied and named many species of Radiolaire S. This research had importance on certain materials used amongst other things in the manufacture of the powder to polish. Moreover they improved our knowledge of certain geological formations, in particular the Chalk , and the depth of the seas and the plans of fresh water at that time. Before Ehrenberg does not make its studies it is not known that considerable masses of Roche S are made up of tiny species of animal or of Plante S. It as showed as the Phosphorescence of the seas is due at living organisms. It almost continues until the end of its life to study the microscopic organizations of the marine depths and certain geological formations. He dies in Berlin the June 27th 1876.

Ehrenberg is named professor of Médecine to the university of Berlin in 1827. He is elected foreign member of the Royal Society of London in 1837. In 1839 the Geological Society off London decrees to him its higher reward, the Médaille Wollaston. He is also the first holder of the Médaille Leeuwenhoek in 1877. After its death its collections are deposited with the Museum für Naturkunde at the Humboldt university of Berlin. The collection Ehrenberg is composed of 40.000 microscopic preparations, 5.000 rough samples, 3.000 drawings with the pencils and ink and a correspondence of almost 1.000 letters.

Publications

Die Infusionsthierchen als vollkommene Organismen (2 volumes., Leipzig, 1838)
Mikrogeologie (2 volumes, Leipzig, 1854)
Fortsetzung DER mikrogeologischen Studien , in Abhandlungen DER königlichen Akadademie der Wissenschaft (Berlin, 1875).

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