Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg
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Painting by Eduard Radke
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| Born | 19 April 1795 Delitzsch, Saxony, Germany
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| Died | 27 June 1876 (aged 81) Berlin, Germany
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| Education | University of Leipzig, University of Berlin |
| Known for | Symbolae physicae |
| Spouse(s) | Julie Rose, Karoline Friederike Friccius |
| Children | Four surviving daughters by first wife: Helene (married Johannes von Hanstein), Mathilde (married Karl Friedrich August Rammelsberg), Laura and Clara Ehrenberg. One son by second wife: Hermann Alexander |
| Parent(s) | Johann Gottfried Ehrenberg and Christiane Dorothea Becker |
| Awards | Wollaston Medal (1839) Leeuwenhoek Medal (1877), Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, foreign member of the Royal Society of London |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | naturalist |
| Institutions | University of Berlin |
| Notable students | Ferdinand Julius Cohn |
| Influences | Alexander von Humboldt |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Ehrenb. |
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (born April 19, 1795 – died June 27, 1876) was a German naturalist and zoologist. He was also a geologist and an expert in using microscopes. Ehrenberg was a very famous and productive scientist of his time. He made many important discoveries about tiny living things.
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Early Life and Explorations
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg was born in Delitzsch, a town near Leipzig, Germany. His father was a judge. Christian first studied theology (the study of religion) at the University of Leipzig. Later, he switched to medicine and natural sciences in Berlin. There, he became good friends with the famous explorer Alexander von Humboldt.
In 1818, Ehrenberg finished his doctoral dissertation about fungi. It was titled Sylvae mycologicae Berolinenses.
From 1820 to 1825, Ehrenberg went on a big scientific trip to the Middle East with his friend Wilhelm Hemprich. They collected thousands of different plants and animals. He explored parts of Egypt, the Libyan Desert, the Nile valley, and the northern coasts of the Red Sea. He was especially interested in studying corals there. After that, they also explored parts of Syria, Arabia, and Abyssinia. Some of their findings were shared by Humboldt in 1826. While in Sudan, Ehrenberg even designed a mansion for the local governor of Dongola, Abidin Bey.
After returning home, Ehrenberg published several papers about insects and corals. He also wrote two books called Symbolae physicae (1828–1834). These books shared many details about the mammals, birds, and insects he had found.
Discovering Microscopic Life
In 1827, Ehrenberg became a professor of medicine at Berlin University. In 1829, he traveled with Humboldt again, this time through eastern Russia to the border of China. After this trip, he started to focus his studies on tiny organisms that could only be seen with a microscope. Before him, no one had studied these organisms in a careful, organized way.
For almost 30 years, Ehrenberg looked at samples of water, soil, dust, and rocks. He found and described thousands of new species. These included well-known flagellates like Euglena and ciliates like Paramecium aurelia and Paramecium caudatum. He also studied many tiny fossils. He wrote nearly 400 scientific papers about his findings.
Ehrenberg was especially interested in a group of single-celled protists called diatoms. But he also studied and named many species of radiolaria, foraminifera, and dinoflagellates.
His research was very important. It showed that large amounts of rock were actually made up of tiny animal or plant forms. Before Ehrenberg, people didn't know this. He also proved that the glowing light sometimes seen in the sea (called phosphorescence) was caused by tiny living organisms.
Ehrenberg received many honors for his work. He became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1836. In 1837, he became a foreign member of the Royal Society of London. In 1839, he won the Wollaston Medal, which is a very high award from the Geological Society of London. He was also chosen as an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1849. He continued to study microscopic organisms from the deep sea and different rock layers until he was quite old. He passed away in Berlin on June 27, 1876.
His Lasting Impact
After Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg died in 1876, his huge collections of microscopic organisms were given to the Berlin's Natural History Museum. This collection is known as the "Ehrenberg Collection." It includes 40,000 microscope slides, 5,000 raw samples, 3,000 drawings, and almost 1,000 letters. His collection of scorpions and other arachnids from the Middle East is also kept at the Berlin Museum. Many plant collections he made are also found in herbaria (plant museums) around the world, like in Melbourne, France, and Kew Gardens.
Ehrenberg was also the first person to win the Leeuwenhoek Medal in 1877. This award honors scientists who make great discoveries about microscopic life.
In his hometown of Delitzsch, the highest high school, the "Ehrenberg-Gymnasium," is named after him. The best student each year receives the Ehrenberg Prize and a scholarship. Ehrenberg Island in the Svalbard islands is also named in his honor.
In 1998, a special issue of a scientific journal was dedicated to him. It was called "Christian Gottfried Ehrenburg (1795–1876) The man and his legacy."
Family Life
Christian Ehrenberg was the son of Johann Gottfried Ehrenberg and Christiane Dorothea Becker. His younger brother, Carl August Ehrenberg, also became a botanist (plant scientist) and collected plants.
Christian Ehrenberg married Julie Rose (1804–1848). They had four daughters who survived: Helene, Mathilde, Laura, and Clara Ehrenberg. Their youngest daughter, Clara, worked as his assistant for over twelve years. She helped him with his scientific research, organized his collections and letters, and even helped create a book to identify different species. Clara was also a talented scientific illustrator.
Helene married the botanist Johannes von Hanstein, and Mathilde married the mineralogist Karl Friedrich August Rammelsberg.
In 1852, Ehrenberg married his second wife, Karoline Friederike Friccius (1812–1895). They had one son named Hermann Alexander Ehrenberg.
Standard Author Abbreviation
When scientists refer to plant species named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg, they often use the short form Ehrenb. His short form for animal species is Ehrenberg. You can find a list of species he named by following this query. You can also see more at Category:Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.
Images for kids
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Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg
