Karl Heinrich Emil Koch (6 June 1809 – 25 May 1879) was a German

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 ...

. He is best known for his botanical explorations in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

region, including northeast

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Most of his collections have today been lost. He is also known as the first professional horticultural officer in Germany.

Biography

He was born in

Ettersburg Ettersburg is a Municipalities in Germany, municipality in the Weimarer Land Districts of Germany, district of Thuringia, Germany. References

Weimarer Land {{WeimarerLand-geo-stub ...

near

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

, Germany. He studied at the universities of

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

and

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 ...

and taught, as

privatdocent ''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 the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

beginning 1834. He became an associate professor in 1836. He undertook a journey of research into southern Russia in 1836–38, and a second in 1843–44. The fruit of this second trip, in which he also visited

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, Great Armenia, the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

, and the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...

,ADB:Koch, Karl
In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

(ADB). Band 16, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, S. 395–398. was hi
"''Wanderungen im Oriente, während der Jahre 1843 und 1844''"
(1846). After his second journey, he settled 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 ...

in 1847, where he was later appointed assistant professor. He was at the Berlin botanical gardens beginning in 1849. He became general secretary of the

Berlin Horticultural Society Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of G ...

(Verein zur Beförderung des Gartenbau, 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 state institution), in which capacity he publishe
"''Wochenschrift für Gartnerei und Pflanzenkunde''"
(1858–72). In 1859, he was appointed professor of the Agricultural High School in Berlin. He died in Berlin.

Writings

Besides the travel book already mentioned, Koch wrote "''Reise durch Russland nach dem kaukasischen Isthmus''" (Trip through Russia and the Caucasian isthmus, Stuttgart, 1842–43), "''Fährtenabdrücke im bunten Sandstein''" (with

Ernst Erhard Schmid Ernst Erhard Friedrich Wilhelm Schmid (22 May 1815 in Hildburghausen – 16 February 1885 in Jena) was a German paleontologist. He was the son of law professor Karl Ernst Schmid (1774–1852). He studied natural sciences at the universities o ...

, 1841),Schmid, Ernst Erhard
at

Neue Deutsche Biographie (''NDB''; Literal translation, literally ''New German Biography'') is a Biography, biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 27 volumes published thus far co ...

"''Hortus dendrologicus''" (Berlin, 1853–54), "''Dendrologie''" (Erlangen, 1869–72), and other works.

Notes

References

;Attribution * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Karl German pteridologists 1809 births 1879 deaths Botanists with author abbreviations University of Jena alumni University of Würzburg alumni People from Weimarer Land 19th-century German botanists