Julius von Sachs
| Julius Von Sachs | |
|---|---|
Julius von Sachs
|
|
| Born |
2 October 1832 Breslau, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died |
29 May 1897 (aged 64) Würzburg, Kingdom of Bavaria |
| Nationality | German |
| Fields | Botany |
| Institutions |
University of Bonn University of Freiburg University of Würzburg |
| Alma mater | Charles University in Prague |
| Influences | Jan Evangelista Purkyně |
Julius von Sachs (German: [zaks]; 2 October 1832 – 29 May 1897) was a German botanist from Breslau, Prussian Silesia. He is a monumental figure in the history of botany.
Sachs was born at Breslau on 2 October 1832. His father, Graveur Sachs, was an engraver by trade, and father taught son delineation and accuracy of line and color. From earliest boyhood Julius was fascinated with plants, making collections of them on many field excursions with his father. He gave much of his time between the ages of thirteen and sixteen to drawing and painting the flowers, fungi, and other specimens which he collected. At the Gymnasium from 1845 to 1850 he was most interested in the natural sciences, collecting skulls, writing a monograph on the crayfish. His natural science teacher, one Krober, showed a singular lack of foresight when he solemnly warned young Sachs against devoting himself to the natural sciences.
When he was but sixteen years old, his father died, and in the next year both his mother and a brother died of the cholera. Suddenly without financial support, he was fortunate to be taken into the family of Jan Evangelista Purkyně who had accepted a professorship at the university at the University of Prague. Sachs was admitted to the university in 1851.
Sachs famously labored long hours in the laboratory for Purkyně, and then long hours for himself each day after his work in the laboratory was finished. After the lab, he could devote himself entirely to establishing how plants grow.
In 1856 Sachs graduated as doctor of philosophy, and then adopted a botanical career, establishing himself as Privatdozent for plant physiology. In 1859 he was appointed physiological assistant to the Agricultural Academy of Tharandt (now part of the Technical University of Dresden) at Julius Adolph Stöckhardt; and in 1862 he was called to be director of the Polytechnic at Chemnitz, but was almost immediately transferred to the Agricultural Academy at Poppelsdorf (now part of the University of Bonn), where he remained until 1867, when he was nominated professor of botany in the University of Freiburg.
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