Johann Baptist Georg Wolfgang Fresenius (September 25, 1808 – December 1, 1866) was a German physician and botanist, known for his work in the field of phycology

Phycology

Phycology is the scientific study of algae. Phycology is a branch of life science and often is regarded as a subdiscipline of botany....

. He was a native of Frankfurt am Main.

He studied medicine at the Universities of Heidelberg, Würzburg

University of Würzburg

The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group.-Name:...

 and Giessen

University of Giessen

The University of Giessen is officially called the Justus Liebig University Giessen after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser.-History:The University of Gießen is among the oldest institutions of...

, earning his doctorate at the latter institution in 1829. Afterwards he settled in Frankfurt am Main, where he worked as a general practitioner

General practitioner

A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...

 of medicine while maintaining an active hobby in botany.

As a student in Heidelberg

Heidelberg

-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

 and afterwards, he studied botany with his friend George Engelmann

George Engelmann

George Engelmann, also known as Georg Engelmann, was a German-American botanist. He was instrumental in describing the flora of the west of North America, then very poorly-known; he was particularly active in the Rocky Mountains and northern Mexico.-Origins:George Engelmann was born in Frankfurt...

 (1809-1884), who later became a renowned German-American botanist. From 1831 Fresenius was curator

Curator

A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...

 of the Senckenberg herbarium

Senckenberg Museum

The Naturmuseum Senckenberg in Frankfurt is the second largest museum of natural history in Germany. It is particularly popular with children, who enjoy the extensive collection of dinosaur skeletons: Senckenberg boasts the largest exhibition of large dinosaurs in Europe. One particular treasure is...

 and a teacher at the Senckenberg Research Institute (Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg). With his student Anton de Bary

Anton de Bary

Heinrich Anton de Bary was a German surgeon, botanist, microbiologist, and mycologist ....

 (1831–1888), he conducted microscopic investigations of algae

Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...

 and fungi. He died in Frankfurt on December 1, 1866 at the age of 58.

The plant genus Fresenia from the family Asteraceae

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

is named after him.