Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli

Abstract

THE death of Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli, on May 10, 1891, removes the last survivor of that distinguished group of botanists who, side by side with zoologists such as Schwann and Kölliker, laid, half a century ago, the foundations of modern histology. The career of Nägeli is of special interest for the history of botany. During a period of fifty years he held a leading position in the advance of the science; and, while his activity began in the early days of Schleiden's predominance, his most recent work is in touch with those latest developments of biology which are connected with the name of Weismann. His work reached every side of the science. Systematic botany, morphology, anatomy, chemical and physical physiology, the theory of heredity and descent, as well as histology, all bear lasting traces of his influence.