69. Ferdinand Cohn

On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of his doctorate

The outstanding botanist Ferdinand Cohn is celebrating his fiftieth doctoral anniversary these days. Plant physiology owes a great deal to Cohn. His institute at the University of Wroclaw produced important work and trained a considerable number of students. The fields to which he devoted himself were the morphology and developmental history of lower plants and the biology of bacteria. Cohn's students praised his excellent teaching talent and his extraordinary helpfulness towards younger scholars. His gift for writing is unusual. In his popular writings ("The Plant") this ability is particularly evident. Few people write in such vivid, tasteful and beautiful language. As far as this is possible in scientific writings, Cohn even rises to an artistic, poetic presentation. A fine sense of nature, which is evident in all his essays, lends their reading a very special charm. His essay "Goethe as a botanist" is one of the pearls of scientific treatises. Ferdinand Cohn is also a subtle connoisseur and lover of art who is enthusiastic about everything of significance.