Ernst Gustav Georg Teichmann (20 February 1869, Nienburg – 27 June 1919,

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

) was a German

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

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 ...

known for his investigations in the field of the

tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies) are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Gloss ...

and for his books on

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

fertilisation Fertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a zygote and initiate its development into a new individual organism or of ...

heredity Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...

and

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

Life and work

He studied theology in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Giessen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...

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 ...

and

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

, obtaining his license in theology at

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

in 1896. From 1898 to 1900, he studied

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

, afterwards continuing his education in zoology at

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and Marburg. In 1909–10 he worked at the Institute for Maritime and Tropical Diseases in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, and from 1911 onward, served as a hydrozoologist and departmental head at the institute for

hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

in Frankfurt. He spent a prolonged time in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

for studies of the tsetse fly and the

animal trypanosomiasis Animal trypanosomiasis, also known as nagana and nagana pest, or sleeping sickness, is a disease of non-human vertebrates. The disease is caused by trypanosoma, trypanosomes of several species in the genus ''Trypanosoma'' such as ''Trypanosoma ...

. There he made experiments with

hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen cyanide (formerly known as prussic acid) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula HCN and structural formula . It is a highly toxic and flammable liquid that boiling, boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is ...

to analyse the toxic effect on

mosquitoes Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by '' mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, ...

and

lice Louse (: lice) is the common name for any member of the infraorder Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera was previously recognized as an order, until a 2021 genetic study determined th ...

Written works

Teichmann was main editor of the ten-volume "''Handwörterbuch der naturwissenschaften''" (Dictionary of natural sciences). In 1905 he published ''Vom Leben und vom Tode, ein Kapitel aus der Lebenskunde'', a book later translated into English and issued as "Life and death; a study in biology" (A M Simons, Chicago, C.H. Kerr, 1906). The following are a few of his principal theological and scientific works: * ''Die Paulinischen Vorstellungen von Auferstehung und Gericht und ihre Beziehung zur jüdischen Apokalyptik'', 1896 - The Pauline notions of resurrection and judgment and its relation to the Jewish Apocalypse. * ''Der Befruchtungsvorgang, sein Wesen und seine Bedeutung'', 1905 - The process of

fertilization Fertilisation or fertilization (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give ...

, its essence and its meaning. * ''Fortpflanzung und Zeugung'', 1907 -

Reproduction Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: Asexual reproduction, asexual and Sexual ...

and procreation. * ''Die Befruchtung und ihre Beziehung zur Vererbung'', 1912 - Fertilization and its relation to

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

. * ''Erfahrungen über die tierischen Trypanosomen-Krankheiten Deutsch-Ostafrikas'' (with Hugo Braun), 1914 - Experience involving

trypanosomiasis Trypanosomiasis or trypanosomosis is the name of several diseases in vertebrates caused by parasitic protozoan trypanosomes of the genus ''Trypanosoma''. In humans this includes African trypanosomiasis and Chagas disease. A number of other disea ...

affecting animals in

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; ) was a German colonial empire, German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Portugu ...

. * with Hugo Braun: ''Erfahrungen über die tierischen Trypanosomen-Krankheiten Deutsch-Ostafrikas'', 1914 - Experience involving trypanosomiasis affecting animals in German East Africa.Erfahrungen über die tierischen Trypanosomen-Krankheiten Deutsch-Ostafrikas. Leipzig. Barth 1914. Archiv für Schiffs- und Tropenhygiene, Bd.18, Beih.1. * Die tierischen Trypanosomen-Krankheiten Deutsch-Ostafrikas. (Aus den Ergebnissen einer Studienreise.) Von Dr. Ernst Teichmann, Frankfurt a. M
(vollst. Text online)
* Mischinfektionsversuche mit Trypanosomen. Zeitschr. f. Hygiene. (1916) 82: 511. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02174337 * Bekämpfung der Stechmücken durch Blausäure. Zeitschrift für Hygiene und Infektionskrankheiten. Februar 1918, Vol. 85, Issue 1, pp 1–16

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teichmann, Ernst 1869 births 1919 deaths University of Würzburg alumni People from Nienburg, Lower Saxony 19th-century German zoologists 20th-century German zoologists