Johann Alexander Ecker (10 July 1816 – 20 May 1887) was a German

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

, born in

Freiburg im Breisgau 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 ...

. He was the son of Johann Matthias Alexander Ecker (1766–1829), a professor at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

Biography

He studied medicine at the University of Freiburg as a pupil of Karl Heinrich Baumgärtner. He received his medical doctorate at Freiburg in 1837. In 1840 he started work as a

prosector A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and ...

at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

, where during the following year, he became a

privat-docent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...

. At Heidelberg, his influences included

Friedrich Tiedemann Friedrich Tiedemann FRS HFRSE (23 August 178122 January 1861) was a German anatomist and physiologist. He was an expert on the anatomy of the brain. Tiedemann spent most of his career as professor of anatomy and physiology at Heidelberg Univer ...

, Friedrich August Benjamin Puchelt,

Theodor Ludwig Wilhelm Bischoff Theodor Ludwig Wilhelm von Bischoff (28 October 1807 in Hannover – 5 December 1882 in Munich) was a German physician and biologist. Biography He lectured on pathological anatomy at University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg (1835-1843) and held pr ...

and

Maximilian Joseph von Chelius Maximilian Joseph von Chelius (16 January 1794 – 17 August 1876) was a German surgeon and ophthalmologist born in Mannheim. Chelius received his medical doctorate in 1812 at the University of Heidelberg, and afterwards worked as both a civilia ...

. In 1844 he became a full professor at

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, later returning to Freiburg as a professor of

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

and

comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

(1850). In 1870 he was co-founder of the ''Akademische Gesellschaft''. As an anthropologist, Ecker conducted excavations of early burial sites in the Kaiserstuhl region of southwestern Germany. At the University of Freiburg, he created a museum of anthropology and

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

( Museum für Urgeschichte und Ethnographie). With

prehistorian Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

Ludwig Lindenschmit the Elder Ludwig Lindenschmit (the Elder) (September 4, 1809 – February 14, 1893) was a German history painter, prehistorian and art instructor who was a native of Mainz. He was a younger brother to history painter Wilhelm Lindenschmit (1806–1848), and ...

(1809–1893), he founded the first German journal of anthropology, the ''Archiv für Anthropologie''. Ecker conducted anatomical studies of the brain, being known for his investigations of

cerebral Cerebral may refer to: * Of or relating to the brain * Cerebrum, the largest and uppermost part of the brain * Cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the cerebrum * Retroflex consonant, also referred to as a cerebral consonant, a type of consonant so ...

convolutions in the

fetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...

. His name is associated with "Ecker's fissure", also known as the petro-occipital fissure. He died in Freiburg im Breisgau. In Freiburg, a thoroughfare known as the ''Eckerstraße'' was named in his honor until 2017, when it was renamed Ernst-Zermelo-Straße.

Selected works

* ''Physiologische Untersuchungen über die Bewegungen des Gehirns und Rückenmarks''.

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, 1843 – Physiological studies relating to movements of the brain and

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone) of vertebrate animals. The center of the spinal c ...

. * ''Icones physiologicae. Erläuterungstafeln zur Physiologie und Entwicklungsgeschichte''.

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, Voss, 1851–1859 – Physiological icons : Explanatory panels on physiology and evolution. * ''Crania Germaniae meridionais occidentalis : Beschreibung und Abbildung von Schädeln früherer und heutiger Bewohner des südwestlichen Deutschlands und insbesondere des Grossherzogthums Baden''. Freiburg im Breisgau : Wagner 1865 – "Crania Germaniae Meridionais occidentalis": Description and illustration of skulls of previous and modern inhabitants of southern Germany, in particular, within the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

. * ''Die Hirnwindungen des Menschen nach eigenen Untersuchungen, insbesondere über die Entwicklung derselben beim Fötus und mit Rücksicht auf das Bedürfniss der Ärzte dargestellt. Braunschweig'', 1869; second edition, 1883 – Cerebral convolutions of humans, in particular, in regards to the development of the fetus, etc. * ''Lorenz Oken, eine biographische Skizze''. Stuttgart, 1869. English 1883 – Biographical sketch of

Lorenz Oken Lorenz Oken (1 August 1779 – 11 August 1851) was a Germans, German natural history, naturalist, botany, botanist, biologist, and ornithology, ornithologist. Biography Oken was born Lorenz Okenfuss () in Bohlsbach (now part of Offenburg), Ortena ...

.Alexander Ecker - bibliography
at

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...

References

External links

* 1816 births 1887 deaths German embryologists German anatomists 19th-century German anthropologists Physicians from Freiburg im Breisgau Academic staff of the University of Basel University of Freiburg alumni Academic staff of the University of Freiburg Recipients of the Cothenius Medal {{Germany-scientist-stub