Hugo von Mohl

Hugo von Mohl is a German Botaniste , born the April 8th 1805 with Stuttgart and dead on April 1st 1872 with Tübingen.

He is the son of a statesman of the Wurtemberg, Benjamin Ferdinand von Mohl (1766 1845), the maternal branches like paternal of the family belonging both to the highest category of the civils servant of Wurtemberg. Whereas it is still raises with the college, it studies the Botanique and the Minéralogie during its spare time until it enters in 1823 to the Université of Tübingen. After obtaining its diplomas with mention in Medicine, it leaves to Munich, where it starts with frequent a circle of botanists and finds a rich person material for his research.

This seems to have been determining in its orientation towards a career of botanist and it begins in 1828 its research on the anatomy, research which it continues until his death. In 1832, he becomes professor of botany to Tübingen, function which he preserves all his life. It Marie never and spends her time in its laboratory and its library where, showing a great manual talent, it improves its techniques of preparations for the microscope as well as the optics of its apparatuses. Having discovered by itself botany lasting its childhood, it is little influenced by its professors and preserves his independence of mind. It receives many honors during its life and is elected corresponding foreigner to the Royal Society in 1868.

The publications of Von Mohl cover one 44 years period. Most important of them appear in 1845 in a volume entitled Vermischte Schriften ¹. Many subjects are covered there, mainly on the structure of the higher plants in particular the anatomy and the histology. It suggests the use of the word Protoplasme , the core having already been identified by Robert Brown (1773-1858) and by others; but in 1844 von Mohl proves in more than the protoplasm is the source of the famous intracellular movements which at the time aroused such an interest.

It identifies (by calling it utricule paramount ) the cytoplasmic membrane of the vacuolar cells and it is the first to describe the behavior of the protoplasm during the cellular division. Such observations contribute to reverse the theory of Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1804-1881) on the spontaneous origin of the cells. Its contributions with the knowledge of the cellular wall are not less remarkable: it defends the vision today commonly allowed of the growth of this cellular wall by affixing. He explains for the first time the true nature of the core, and shows the cellular origin of the vessels and of the Fiber S. As an author of all this research, he can really be regarded as the true founder of the cellular theory. It is thus very indicated to gather this one in only one work, which it does in a summary on the vegetable cell: Die vegetabilische Zeal appeared in German in 1851 and translated into English in 1852.

The first searchs for Von Mohl which related to the structure of the Palmier S, the cycadophytes and the tree ferns, as its work of 1840 on the isoètes constitutes the strong foundation of all later research. Thereafter, it is devoted mainly to the anatomy of the stems of the Dicotylédone S and of the Gymnosperme S and at the conclusion of its observations on the bark and cork, it explains the formation and the origin of the various types of barks and corrects the preceding errors made in connection with the Lenticelle S. Taking again its first demonstrations on the origin of the Stomate S (1838), it writes a famous article where it describes their opening and their closing (1850).

In 1843, with Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (1794-1866), it starts the publication of the monthly magazine Botanische Zeitung , which it publishes until its death. He is not a large popularizer and does not sign any handbook thus; it seems that it is its attempt at collaboration with Wilhelm Friedrich Benedict Hofmeister (1824-1877) for the realization of a Handbuch which seems to have diverted it of this kind of publication. Its scientific activity declines during its last years, undoubtedly because of its failing health and he dies suddenly on April 1st 1872.

Note

1. the complete listing as of its publications is appeared in the Botanische Zeitung of 1872 (p. 576) as in the Royal Society Catalog of 1870 (volume iv).

Bibliographical orientation

Julius von Sachs (1871-1872). Die Geschichte der Botanik vom 16. Jahrhundert (a) 1860 , p. 292 and following.
Anton de Bary (1872) Botanische Zeitung (1872), p. 561.
Proc. Roy. Plowshare , xxiii. 1.
Allgemeine Deutsche Biography , xxii. 55.

Source

Translation of the article of English language of Wikipédia.

March 26th 1868 -->

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