Richard Hertwig
Encyclopedia
Richard Wilhelm Karl Theodor Ritter von Hertwig (September 23, 1850, Friedberg, Hesse
- October 3, 1937, Schlederloh
, Bavaria
), also Richard Hertwig or Richard von Hertwig, was a German
zoologist and professor of 50 years, notable as the first to describe zygote
formation as the fusing of spermatozoa inside the membrane of an egg cell during fertilization.
Richard Hertwig was the younger brother of Oscar Hertwig, who also analyzed zygote formation.
The Hertwig brothers were the most eminent scholars of Ernst Haeckel
(and Carl Gegenbaur), each brother becoming a long-term professor in Germany
. They were independent of Haeckel's philosophical speculations but took his ideas in a positive way to widen their concepts in zoology
. Initially, between 1879-1883, they worked together and performed embryological studies, especially on the theory of the coelom
(1881). These problems were based on the phylogenetic theorems of Haeckel, specifically, the biogenic theory and the "gastraea theory" of Haeckel.
Within 10 years, the two brothers moved apart to the north and south of Germany
. Richard's brother Oscar later became a professor of anatomy
in 1888 in Berlin
; however, Richard Hertwig had moved 3 years prior, becoming a professor of zoology in Munich
from 1885-1925, at Ludwig Maximilians University, where he served the last 40 years of his 50-year career as a professor at 4 universities.
The later research of Richard Hertwig focused on protist
s (with the relationship between the nucleus and the plasma = "Kern-Plasma-Relation"), as well as on developmental physiological studies on sea urchin
s and frog
s. Richard Hertwig also wrote a leading textbook of zoology, published in 1891, which he kept up to date through 15 editions until 1931.
in the Grand Duchy of Hesse
. He began studying medicine at the University of Jena, and under the influence of professor Ernst Haeckel
(16 years older), he shifted his interest more to zoology
and biology
.
In 1872, he received a doctorate at the University of Bonn
and worked there as an assistant to anatomist Max Schultze
. In 1875, he moved to the University of Jena in the Department of Zoology, and in 1878, Hertwig became extraordinary professor there.
As a successor of Franz Hermann Troschel
, Richard Hertwig was appointed in 1881 to the University of Königsberg
as a professor of zoology. In 1883, he moved to the same role as professor at the University of Bonn
, where he remained only a short while, however, since in 1885, he was called to the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich
, where Hertwig remained until 1925, also working as head of the zoological collection of the state of Bavaria (now Zoologische Staatssammlung München) and as director of the zoological institute which he developed into a leading centre of biological science.
Hertwig belonged to the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, beginning in 1885 as an extraordinary member, and from 1889 as a full member. In 1909, he received the title Ritter von
.
Hertwig died on October 3, 1937 in Schlederloh
, Germany
.
His pupil Otto Koehler became one of the founders of Ethology
in Germany
. Another of his students, Ivan Buresh
, was a leading Bulgaria
n natural scientist.
Together they developed, in 1881, the Coelom
Theory (German: "Coelomtheorie"), of the fluid-filled body cavity (the "coelom"), as an explanation of the middle Keimblatt, which brought important realizations in the field of embryology
.
The theory assumes that all organs and tissues develop differently from three primary tissue layers
, during animal embryogenesis
.
Hertwig worked systematically on several groups of protozoa
and metazoa (German: Wirbellose) and provided fundamental work on the development of animals. His contributions are most well known to protozoa
research.
Hertwig was also first, on the basis of examining sea urchin
s, to have discovered and explained the zygote
fertilization process for the first time correctly as a fusion of egg and spermatozoon
(sperm cell) penetrating the egg membrane. Later, Hertwig examined the effect of radium jets, along with his children Günther and Paula, for animal germ cells.
Friedberg, Hesse
Friedberg is a town and the capital of the Wetteraukreis district, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 26 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main.-Division of the town:The town consists of 7 districts:* Bruchenbrücken...
- October 3, 1937, Schlederloh
Icking
Icking is a municipality in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria in Germany.-Townships:It consists of:*Attenhausen*Dorfen*Holzen*Icking*Irschenhausen*Meilenberg*Obere Alpe*Schützenried*Schlederloh*Spatzenloh*Wadlhausen*Walchstadt...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
), also Richard Hertwig or Richard von Hertwig, was a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
zoologist and professor of 50 years, notable as the first to describe zygote
Zygote
A zygote , or zygocyte, is the initial cell formed when two gamete cells are joined by means of sexual reproduction. In multicellular organisms, it is the earliest developmental stage of the embryo...
formation as the fusing of spermatozoa inside the membrane of an egg cell during fertilization.
Richard Hertwig was the younger brother of Oscar Hertwig, who also analyzed zygote formation.
The Hertwig brothers were the most eminent scholars of Ernst Haeckel
Ernst Haeckel
The "European War" became known as "The Great War", and it was not until 1920, in the book "The First World War 1914-1918" by Charles à Court Repington, that the term "First World War" was used as the official name for the conflict.-Research:...
(and Carl Gegenbaur), each brother becoming a long-term professor in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. They were independent of Haeckel's philosophical speculations but took his ideas in a positive way to widen their concepts in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
. Initially, between 1879-1883, they worked together and performed embryological studies, especially on the theory of the coelom
Coelom
The coelom is a fluid-filled cavity formed within the mesoderm. Coeloms developed in triploblasts but were subsequently lost in several lineages. Loss of coelom is correlated with reduction in body size...
(1881). These problems were based on the phylogenetic theorems of Haeckel, specifically, the biogenic theory and the "gastraea theory" of Haeckel.
Within 10 years, the two brothers moved apart to the north and south of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Richard's brother Oscar later became a professor of anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
in 1888 in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
; however, Richard Hertwig had moved 3 years prior, becoming a professor of zoology in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
from 1885-1925, at Ludwig Maximilians University, where he served the last 40 years of his 50-year career as a professor at 4 universities.
The later research of Richard Hertwig focused on protist
Protist
Protists are a diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms. Historically, protists were treated as the kingdom Protista, which includes mostly unicellular organisms that do not fit into the other kingdoms, but this group is contested in modern taxonomy...
s (with the relationship between the nucleus and the plasma = "Kern-Plasma-Relation"), as well as on developmental physiological studies on sea urchin
Sea urchin
Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...
s and frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s. Richard Hertwig also wrote a leading textbook of zoology, published in 1891, which he kept up to date through 15 editions until 1931.
Life
Hertwig was born in FriedbergFriedberg, Hesse
Friedberg is a town and the capital of the Wetteraukreis district, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 26 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main.-Division of the town:The town consists of 7 districts:* Bruchenbrücken...
in the Grand Duchy of Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
. He began studying medicine at the University of Jena, and under the influence of professor Ernst Haeckel
Ernst Haeckel
The "European War" became known as "The Great War", and it was not until 1920, in the book "The First World War 1914-1918" by Charles à Court Repington, that the term "First World War" was used as the official name for the conflict.-Research:...
(16 years older), he shifted his interest more to zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
.
In 1872, he received a doctorate at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
and worked there as an assistant to anatomist Max Schultze
Max Schultze
Max Johann Sigismund Schultze was a German microscopic anatomist noted for his work on cell theory.-Biography:Schultze was born at Freiburg in Breisgau...
. In 1875, he moved to the University of Jena in the Department of Zoology, and in 1878, Hertwig became extraordinary professor there.
As a successor of Franz Hermann Troschel
Franz Hermann Troschel
Franz Hermann Troschel was a German zoologist who was born in Spandau. He studied mathematics and natural history at the University of Berlin, and beginning in 1840 was an assistant to Martin Lichtenstein at the Humboldt Museum of Natural History in Berlin...
, Richard Hertwig was appointed in 1881 to the University of Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
as a professor of zoology. In 1883, he moved to the same role as professor at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
, where he remained only a short while, however, since in 1885, he was called to the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, where Hertwig remained until 1925, also working as head of the zoological collection of the state of Bavaria (now Zoologische Staatssammlung München) and as director of the zoological institute which he developed into a leading centre of biological science.
Hertwig belonged to the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, beginning in 1885 as an extraordinary member, and from 1889 as a full member. In 1909, he received the title Ritter von
Ritter
Ritter is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second lowest rank within the nobility, standing above "Edler" and below "Freiherr"...
.
Hertwig died on October 3, 1937 in Schlederloh
Icking
Icking is a municipality in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria in Germany.-Townships:It consists of:*Attenhausen*Dorfen*Holzen*Icking*Irschenhausen*Meilenberg*Obere Alpe*Schützenried*Schlederloh*Spatzenloh*Wadlhausen*Walchstadt...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
His pupil Otto Koehler became one of the founders of Ethology
Ethology
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a sub-topic of zoology....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Another of his students, Ivan Buresh
Ivan Buresh
Ivan Yosifov Buresh was a Bulgarian zoologist and entomologist who has been dubbed "the patriarch of Bulgarian biology".Ivan Buresh was born in Sofia, the capital of the Principality of Bulgaria, to the family of Czech zincographer and photographer Josef Bureš who had settled in Bulgaria after the...
, was a leading Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n natural scientist.
Research
At the beginning of his career, Richard Hertwig worked along with his brother, Oscar Hertwig.Together they developed, in 1881, the Coelom
Coelom
The coelom is a fluid-filled cavity formed within the mesoderm. Coeloms developed in triploblasts but were subsequently lost in several lineages. Loss of coelom is correlated with reduction in body size...
Theory (German: "Coelomtheorie"), of the fluid-filled body cavity (the "coelom"), as an explanation of the middle Keimblatt, which brought important realizations in the field of embryology
Embryology
Embryology is a science which is about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage...
.
The theory assumes that all organs and tissues develop differently from three primary tissue layers
Germ layer
A germ layer, occasionally referred to as a germinal epithelium, is a group of cells, formed during animal embryogenesis. Germ layers are particularly pronounced in the vertebrates; however, all animals more complex than sponges produce two or three primary tissue layers...
, during animal embryogenesis
Embryogenesis
Embryogenesis is the process by which the embryo is formed and develops, until it develops into a fetus.Embryogenesis starts with the fertilization of the ovum by sperm. The fertilized ovum is referred to as a zygote...
.
Hertwig worked systematically on several groups of protozoa
Protozoa
Protozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...
and metazoa (German: Wirbellose) and provided fundamental work on the development of animals. His contributions are most well known to protozoa
Protozoa
Protozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...
research.
Hertwig was also first, on the basis of examining sea urchin
Sea urchin
Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...
s, to have discovered and explained the zygote
Zygote
A zygote , or zygocyte, is the initial cell formed when two gamete cells are joined by means of sexual reproduction. In multicellular organisms, it is the earliest developmental stage of the embryo...
fertilization process for the first time correctly as a fusion of egg and spermatozoon
Spermatozoon
A spermatozoon is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote...
(sperm cell) penetrating the egg membrane. Later, Hertwig examined the effect of radium jets, along with his children Günther and Paula, for animal germ cells.
Publications
- Das Nervensystem und die Sinnesorgane der Medusen, 1878 ("The nervous system and the sensory organs of the Medusa").
- Die Actinien, 1879.
- Chätognathien, 1880.
- Die Coelomtheorie: Versuch einer Erklärung des mittleren Keimblattes, JenaJenaJena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
, 1881 ("The Coelom Theory. Attempt of an explanation of the middle Keimblatt"). - Lehrbuch der Zoologie, JenaJenaJena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
, 1891 ("Textbook of Zoology"). - Abstammungslehre und neuere Biologie, 1927 ("Descending teachings and newer biology").
External links
- Photograph of Richard von Hertwig, 1894 in the Virtual LaboratoryVirtual LaboratoryThe online project Virtual Laboratory. Essays and Resources on the Experimentalization of Life, 1830-1930, located at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, is dedicated to research in the history of the experimentalization of life...
of the Max Planck Institute for the History of ScienceMax Planck Institute for the History of ScienceThe Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin was established in March 1994. Its research is primarily devoted to a theoretically oriented history of science, principally of the natural sciences, but with methodological perspectives drawn from the cognitive sciences and from...