SPRENGEL, KURT (1766-1833)

This article appears in Volume V25, Page 737 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SOU-STE

SPRENGEL, KURT (1766-1833) , German botanist and physician, was born an the 3rd of August 1766 at Bodelkow in Pome-
rania. His uncle, Christian Konrad Sprengel (1750-1816), is remembered for his studies in the fertilization of

flowers

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

by insectsa subject in which he reached conclusions many years ahead of his time. His father, a clergyman, provided him with a thorough education of wide

scope

SCOPE (through Ital. scopo, aim, purpose, intent, from Gr. o'KOaos, mark to shoot at, aim, o ic07reiv, to see, whence the termination in telescope, microscope, &c.)

; and the boy at an early age distinguished himself as a linguist, not only in Latin and Greek, but also in Arabic. He appeared as an author at the age of fourteen, publishing a small

work

WORK

called Anleitung zur Botanik filr Frauenzimmer in 1780. In 1784 he began to study theology and

medicine

MEDICINE

at the university of

Halle

, but soon relinquished the former. He graduated in

medicine

MEDICINE

in 1787. In 1789 he was appointed extraordinary professor of medicine in his alma mater, and in 1795 was promoted to be

ordinary

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

professor. He devoted much of his time to medical

work

WORK

and to investigations into the history of medicine; and he held a foremost rank as an

original

ORIGINAL

investigator both in medicine and botany. Among the more important of his many services to the latter science was the part he took in awakening and stimulating microscopic investigation into the anatomy of the tissues of the higher plants, though defective microscopic appliances rendered the conclusions arrived at by himself untrustworthy. He also made many improvements in the details of both the Linnaean and the " natural " systems of classification. He died of an apoplectic seizure at

Halle

on the 15th of March
1833.
Sprengel's more important works were: Beitrage zur Geschichte des Pulses (1787); Galens Fieberlehre (1788); Apologie des Hippokrates (1789); Versuch einer pragmatisclzen Geschichte der Arzneikunde (17921799); Handbuch der Pathologic (17951797); Institutions medicae (6 vols., 18091816) ; Geschichte der Medicin (completed in 1820); Antiquitatum botanicarum specimen (1798); Historia rei herbariae (18o7r8o8); Anleitung zur Kenntniss der Gewachse (18021804; and again 18171818); Geschichte der Botanik (18171818) ; Van dem Bau and der Natur der Gewachse (1812) ; Flora halensis (18061815; and in 1832); Species umbelliferarum minus cognitae (1818) ; Neue Entdeckung im ganzen Umfang der Pflanzenkunde (18201822). He edited an edition of Linnaeus's Systema vegetabilium in 1824 and of the Genera plantarum in 183o. A

list

LIST (O.E.
lisle
- LISLE, ALICE (c. 1614-1685)
, a Teutonic word, cf. Dut. lust, Ger. Leiste, adapted in Ital. lista and Fr.
lisle
- LISLE, ALICE (c. 1614-1685)
)
LIST,
FRIEDRICH
- FRIEDRICH, JOHANN (1836— )
(1789-1846)

of his botanical papers from 1798 onwards will be found in the Royal Society's Catalogue of Scientific Papers.

End of Article: SPRENGEL, KURT (1766-1833)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/SOU_STE/SPRENGEL_KURT_1766_1833_.html">
SPRENGEL, KURT (1766-1833)
</a>

(Previous)
SPREMBERG

(Next)
SPRENGER, JAKOB (fl. 1500)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email