Having devoted his life to the study of wildlife, Ernst Haeckel made many discoveries and made a great contribution to science. Learn more about the scientific activities of the scientist later in the article.
Ernst Haeckel: biography
The German philosopher and naturalist E. Haeckel was born in Potsdam in 1834. After graduating from school in Meserburg, he studied medicine and natural sciences at the universities of Berlin and Würzburg. He defended his thesis on zoology at the University of Jena. In 1858 he received a medical degree.
Ernst Haeckel showed an extraordinary interest in microscopic anatomy and zoology. In 1859 he went on an expedition to Italy, where he studied plankton, sponges, worms, and discovered new types of radiolarians. Upon his return, the scientist takes the post of professor and then associate professor at Jena University and teaches comparative anatomy.
Since 1863, began an active social and scientific activity. He gives a speech on Darwinism, publishes his printed works, and formulates scientific theories. At the end of the XIX century, the researcher went on an expedition to Egypt, Algeria, the islands of Madeira and Ceylon. Later, he traveled to Syria, Corsica, Tenerife, Norway, Gibraltar and other places, studying their wildlife and making sketches.
In 1867, Ernst Haeckel marries Agnes Hushka. They have a son, Walter, daughters Emma and Elizabeth. The death of his wife in 1915 greatly affected the scientist's health and well-being. He died in Germany on August 9, 1919.
Research and publications
Obtaining a doctor’s diploma did not affect the professional activities of the scientist. In many respects, his studies and worldview were influenced by communication with Charles Darwin. Ernst Haeckel begins to publish books since 1866. His first work is called "General morphology of organisms." After some time, the book “The Natural History of Peacekeeping” is published, where he speaks out in support of evolutionary theory.
In 1866, he forms an improved version of the biogenetic law formulated several years earlier. In this regard, Ernst Haeckel builds a theory of gastrea, explaining the origin of multicellular from unicellular organisms. Thanks to this, Haeckel becomes famous in the scientific community.
In 1874, the publication "Anthropogeny, or the History of Human Development" was published, in which he sets out his next theory about the existence of an intermediate link between a monkey and a man.
During an expedition to Africa and Asia, he writes works on jellyfish, deep-sea fish, radiolarians, after which he devotes the book "Systematic Phylogeny" to the study of these organisms. In total, Ernst Haeckel wrote about 26 works, some of them translated into Russian.
General morphology of organisms
Another discipline that Ernst Haeckel made a significant contribution to is ecology. In his first book, “General Morphology of Organisms,” the scientist puts forward the theory of the need to isolate it in a separate biological discipline. In his opinion, the complex processes of interaction between living organisms and their relationship with the environment should be the subject of a study of science called ecology.
Ernst Haeckel believed that the main task of this discipline is to study the organic and inorganic environmental conditions to which living organisms are forced to adapt. By inorganic nature, the scientist understood climatic factors such as light, atmospheric electricity, moisture, heat, as well as the composition of the soil and water. To organic Haeckel attributed all types of relationships between organisms.
Biogenetic law
Inspired by evolutionary theory, Haeckel formulated a law, which is also called the Haeckel-Mueller law. It is based on the assumption that during development an individual organism repeats the forms of the main stages of its evolution. That is, observing the development of the embryo, one can trace how the natural formation of its species occurred.
For the first time, such a hypothesis was put forward by Charles Darwin in the publication “The Origin of Species,” however, it was not expressed very clearly. In 1864, Fritz Müller in his book, For Darwin, says that the historical development of a species is reflected in the development of the individual. Two years later, Haeckel, on the basis of his own research, gave a clear statement of these thoughts under the name of biogenetic law.
The law is often used as confirmation of Darwinian theory, although at present there are many facts that can refute its correctness. For example, in the initial stages, the development of vertebrates is not the same. Similarities are noted only at later stages.
Theory of gastrea
Based on the biogenetic law, Ernst Heinrich Haeckel creates a theory that explains the origin of multicellular organisms from unicellular ones. In his opinion, the first multicellular creature had similarities with gastrula - an embryonic form consisting of a layer of external and internal cells.
According to the theory, a unicellular organism began division, in which daughter cells did not disperse, but formed a cluster. Subsequently, they began to differ in functional and anatomical features - some were responsible for movement, others for digestion. So, according to Haeckel's theory, a multicellular organism was formed, which was called gastrea. He reminded the first intestinal animals.
Conclusion
During his life, Ernst Heinrich Haeckel published many works, introduced the terms ecology, pithecanthropus, ontogenesis and phylogenesis to science. Exploring the marine animal world on expeditions, he discovered more than a hundred species of radiolarians. Haeckel was among the first zoologists in Germany to join Darwin's theory. Supporting the evolutionary theory in his research, he tried to determine the development system of the animal kingdom, formulated the biogenetic law and the theory of the origin of multicellular organisms.