Karl Immanuel Eberhard Ritter von Goebel FRS FRSE (8 March 1855,

Billigheim Billigheim is a municipality in the district of Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The town of Billigheim has five local subdivisions: Sulzbach (1803 Inhabitants), Billigheim, Allfeld, Waldmühlbach and Katzental. Histo ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

– 9 October 1932,

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 ...

) was a German botanist. His main fields of study were comparative functional anatomy,

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

, and the developmental

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 ...

of plants under the influence of both phylogenetic and extrinsic factors.

Life

Starting in 1873, Goebel studied theology and philosophy, as well as botany with

Wilhelm Hofmeister Wilhelm Friedrich Benedikt Hofmeister (18 May 1824 – 12 January 1877) was a German biologist and botanist. He "stands as one of the true giants in the history of biology and belongs in the same pantheon as Darwin and Mendel." Largely se ...

, at the University of Tuebingen. In 1876 he moved to Strasbourg, where he worked with

Anton de Bary Heinrich Anton de Bary (26 January 183119 January 1888) was a German surgeon, botanist, microbiologist, and mycologist (fungal systematics and physiology). He is considered a founding father of plant pathology (phytopathology) as well as the foun ...

, and from which he graduated in 1877 with his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

In 1878, Goebel became assistant to

Julius von Sachs Julius von Sachs (; 2 October 1832 – 29 May 1897) was a German botanist from Breslau, Prussian Silesia. He is considered the founder of experimental plant physiology and co-founder of modern water culture. Julius von Sachs and Wilhelm Knop a ...

, and in 1880 a lecturer 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 ...

. In 1881 he became first assistant to August Schenk of the University of Leipzig, then an associate professor at Strasbourg, and 1882 associate professor at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Se ...

, where in 1884 he founded the botanical garden and a botanical institute. From 1887–1891 he was a professor at Marburg, and from 1891–1931 at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, where he laid out the new

Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg The Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg is a botanical garden and arboretum in Munich, Germany. History Munich's first botanical garden, now called the " Old Botanical Garden", was established in 1809 based on designs by Friedric ...

, and served as its first director. In 1885–1886 he undertook research trips to

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, in 1890–1891

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and then

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

. Goebel was editor of "Flora" from 1889 onwards. In 1892 he became a full member of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

(later serving as President). In 1910 he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. In 1911, botanist

Franz Stephani Franz Stephani (15 April 1842 – 23 February 1927) was a German bryologist specializing in liverworts. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing a botanical name. Stephani was born in Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, i ...

published ''

Goebeliellaceae Goebeliellaceae is a family of liverworts belonging to the order Porellales. The family consists of only one genus: ''Goebeliella'' Steph.. The genus name of ''Goebeliella'' is in honour of Karl von Goebel (1855–1932), who was a German botani ...

'', which is a family of liverworts belonging to the order Porellales">liverwort">Karl von Goebel (1855–1932), who was a German botani ...

Life

References

External links