Franz Julius Ferdinand Meyen (28 June 1804 – 2 September 1840) was a

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n physician and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. Meyen was born in Tilsit,

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. In 1830 he wrote ''Phytotomie'', the first major study of

plant anatomy Plant anatomy or phytotomy is the general term for the study of the internal Anatomy, structure of plants. Originally, it included plant morphology, the description of the physical form and external structure of plants, but since the mid-20th centu ...

. Between 1830 and 1832, he took part in an expedition to South America on board the ''Prinzess Luise'', visiting

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, describing species then new to science such as the

Humboldt penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, along the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos penguin. ...

. From 1823 to 1826, he studied medicine 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 ...

, followed by service as a military surgeon at the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine; ) is Europe's List of hospitals by capacity, largest university hospital, affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Humboldt University and the Free ...

in Berlin. In 1834 he became an associate professor of botany in Berlin. With Heinrich Friedrich Link, he was co-editor of the journal ''Jahresberichte über die Arbeiten für physiologische Botanik'' (1837–1839).Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin
biography He died in Berlin in 1840.

Honoria

*The plant genus ''Meyenia'' commemorates his name.CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms
by Umberto Quattrocchi *The stingray '' Taeniurops meyeni'' ( J. P. Müller & Henle, 1841) was named after him.

Selected works

* 1828, ''Anatomisch-physiologische Untersuchungen über den Inhalt der Pflanzenzellen'', Berlin: Hirschwald. * 1830, ''Phytotomie''. * 1837, ''Ueber die Secretions-Organe der Pflanzen''. Berlin: Morin art of: Müller Library * 1837, ''Neues System der Pflanzen-Physiologie.'' Erster Band. Berlin: Haude & Spener. * 1838, ''Jahresbericht über die Resultate der Arbeiten im Felde der physiologischen Botanik von dem Jahre 1837'', Berlin: Nicolai'sche Buchhandlung * 1839, ''Jahresbericht über die Resultate der Arbeiten im Felde der physiologischen Botanik von dem Jahre 1838'', Berlin: Nicolai'sche Buchhandlung.

References

1804 births 1840 deaths People from Tilsit People from East Prussia German bryologists Botanists from the Kingdom of Prussia Botanists with author abbreviations Botanists active in South America Prussian physicians 19th-century German physicians 19th-century German botanists German ornithologists German pteridologists {{Germany-med-bio-stub

Honoria

See also

Selected works

References