Ernst Haeckel as a botanist - reconstruction and contextualisation

• Applicants: Dr. Thomas Bach; Professor Dr. Frank Hellwig
• Subject Area: History of Science ; Evolution and Systematics of Plants and Fungi
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 445538750

Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919) did not only make outstanding contributions to Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, but also became an important propagator of Darwinism, an author of travel reports and an artist. Although he was mostly known as a zoologist, he started off into science with botany. This is documented by hitherto unpublished letters, diaries, drawings and his large, yet unexplored herbarium. The course of Haeckel’s botanical studies and its influence on his subsequent scientific career is only poorly understood. The main goal of the project is to investigate Haeckel’s botanical heritage for the first time. Based on material from the Ernst-Haeckel-Archive Jena (letters, diaries, manuscripts and drawings) and the Herbarium-Haussknecht Jena (Herbarium Ernst Haeckel) we will investigate the influence of Haeckel’s early botanical studies on his scientific career, mode of collecting and the style of his travel reports. At the Herbarium Haussknecht, a selection of Haeckel’s herbarium-specimens will be digitized in connection with plants mentioned in his letters and diaries. Based on this interdisciplinary cooperation, the project will explore a little known facet of Haeckel’s scientific activity and study his botanical studies in their historical context.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants