Prof Karl (Carl) Theodor Ernst von Siebold FRS(For) H

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(16 February 1804 – 7 April 1885) was a German

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

and

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

. He was responsible for the introduction of the taxa

Arthropoda Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated ( metameric) segments, and paired jointed appendages. ...

and Rhizopoda, and for defining the taxon

Protozoa Protozoa (: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris. Historically ...

specifically for single-celled organisms.

Biography

He was born at

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

in the Electorate of Bavaria, the son of Elias von Siebild (sic), a professor of obstetrics, and his wife, Sophie von Schaffer. He was educated in Würzburg and the Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Von Siebold studied medicine and science chiefly at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

(under K. A. Rudolphi) and also at

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

(under

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (11 May 1752 – 22 January 1840) was a German physician, naturalist, physiologist and anthropologist. He is considered to be a main founder of zoology and anthropology as comparative, scientific disciplines. He has be ...

), submitting a thesis on the metamorphosis of the salamander. In 1831 he began to practice medicine in Heilsberg, East Prussia (now Lidzbark Warmiński), moving in 1834 to

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, and then in the same year to be Director of the

Midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...

ry School in Danzig. He became professor of zoology, comparative anatomy and veterinary science at

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

in 1840, professor of zoology and physiology at

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

in 1845, professor of physiology at Breslau in 1850, and professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at the Maximilians-Universität in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1853. In Munich, he later received the additional duties as professor of zoology and director of the zoological and zootomical cabinet. He was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in 1856. He was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1869. He died in

on 7 April 1885. He was considered “an industrious and critical observer and ... as his biographer justly calls him, the Nestor of German zoology”.

Scientific work

His best-known publication was the ''Lehrbuch der Vergleichenden Anatomie'' (''Manual of Comparative Anatomy'') (1845–48) which he co-edited with

Hermann Friedrich Stannius Hermann Friedrich Stannius (15 March 1808, Hamburg – 15 January 1883, Sachsenberg near Schwerin) was a German anatomist, physiologist and entomologist. He specialised in the insect order Diptera especially the family Dolichopodidae. Works En ...

, being largely responsible for the first volume, on invertebrates (see Principal Publications). Siebold was the originator, after Cuvier, of the first important reforms in systematic zoology, and established the unicellular nature of the

, which he first combined into a phylum. He introduced the taxa

and Rhizopoda. In 1848, together with R. A. von Kölliker he founded the leading biological journal ''Zeitschrift für Wissenschaftliche Zoologie'' (Journal for Scientific Zoology), which he edited until his death. This was long the leading morphological and anatomical journal of Europe. His scientific accomplishments included (in 1851) collaborating with Theodor Bilharz on the first description of the blood-fluke '' Schistosoma haematobium'', (in 1853) the elucidation of the life cycle of the tapeworm ''

Echinococcus granulosus ''Echinococcus granulosus'', also called the hydatid worm or dog tapeworm, is a cyclophyllid cestode that dwells in the small intestine of canids as an adult, but which has important intermediate hosts such as livestock and humans, where it caus ...

'', (in 1854) the suggestion that the cercariae of the fluke ''

Fasciola hepatica ''Fasciola hepatica'', also known as the common liver fluke or sheep liver fluke, is a parasitism, parasitic trematode (fluke (flatworm), fluke or flatworm, a type of helminth) of the class (biology), class Trematoda, phylum Platyhelminthes. It ...

'' were the infective stage which passed from the invertebrate to the vertebrate host, and (in 1856) the discovery of

parthenogenesis Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek + ) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly from an egg without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means the development of an embryo from an unfertiliz ...

in insects. He also published work on

medusae Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals, althoug ...

, other

cestodes Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, commonly known as tapeworms. Their bodies con ...

and trematodes, and

strepsiptera The Strepsiptera () are an order of insects with eleven extant families that include about 600 described species. They are endoparasites of other insects, such as bees, wasps, leafhoppers, Zygentoma, silverfish, and cockroaches. Females of most s ...

ns... His collection of worm specimens was purchased for the Helminth Collection of the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

in London in 1851. His fish collection (1804-1855), specializing in freshwater fishes of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, was deposited at the Zoological Cabinet of the Bavarian State in 1863, and though most were lost in WWII, some specimens remain at the Zoologische Staatssammlung in

Family

He married twice: in 1831 to Fanny Noldechen (d.1854) and in 1855 to Antoynie Noldechen (her younger sister). His father was cousin (some say younger brother) to the naturalist and physician

Philipp Franz von Siebold Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (17 February 1796 – 18 October 1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveller. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora (plants), flora and fauna (animals), fauna and the introduction of ...

Principal publications

*''Observationes de Salamandris et Tritonibus'' (1828) *''Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte der wirbellosen Thiere'' (Contributions to the natural history of invertebrates; Danzig, 1839) *''Lehrbuch der vergleichenden Anatomie der Wirbellossen Thiere ''(Manual of comparative anatomy of invertebrates; Berlin, 1848, by C. T. E. von Siebold), being the first volume of ''Lehrbuch der Vergleichenden Anatomie'' (Manual of comparative anatomy; edited by C. T. E. von Siebold and H. Stannius, 1846–48); however, it was published after the second volume, ''Lehrbuch der vergleichenden Anatomie der Wirbelthiere'' (Manual of comparative anatomy of vertebrates; Berlin, 1846, by H. Stanius), leading to confusion regarding the correct date of the works *''Ueber die Band- und Blasenwürmer'' (1854) *''Wahre Parthenogenesis bei Schmetterlingen und Bienen'' (True parthenogenesis in moths and bees; 1856; English trans. 1857) *''Die Süsswasserfische Mitteleuropas'' (Freshwater fish of Central Europe; Leipzig, 1863) Here he points out some of the hybrid forms. *''Beiträge zur Parthenogenesis der Arthropoden'' (Contributions on the parthenogenesis of Arthropods; 1871) Here he established the fact of parthenogenesis in two

wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

, in a saw fly, in several

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s, and in certain phyllopod

crustacea Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

Animals named after Siebold

*''Ergasilus sieboldi'' von Nordmann, 1832 *''Lineola sieboldii'' (Kölliker, 1845) Gerlach & Riemann, 1974 *''Pegantha sieboldi'' (Haeckel, 1879) *''Trichosphaerium sieboldi'' Schneider, 1878 *''Stenostomum sieboldi'' von Graff, 1878 *''Colobomatus sieboldi'' (Richiardi, 1877) *''Hyalonema sieboldi'' Gray, 1835 Source: Hans G. Hansson, Biographical Etymology of Marine Organism Names, Tjärnö Marine Biol. Lab., Sweden. Two snakes: *'' Geophis sieboldi'' Jan, 1862 *'' Amphiesma sieboldii'' ( Günther, 1860) Günther A (1860). "Contributions to a Knowledge of the Reptiles of the Himalaya Mountains". ''Proc. Zool. Soc. London'' 1860: 148-175. (''Herpetoreas sieboldii'', new species, pp. 156-157; "This species is called after Prof. von Siebold of Munich", p. 157).

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Siebold, Carl von 1804 births 1885 deaths Scientists from Würzburg People from the Electorate of Bavaria German untitled nobility 19th-century German zoologists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Foreign members of the Royal Society Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) International members of the American Philosophical Society