EDUARD STRASBURGER. 927 



EDUARD STRASBURGER (1844-1912) 



Foreign Honorary Member in Class II, Section 2, 1892. 



Eduard Strasburger was born in Warsaw in 1844. In 1862-1864 

 he studied at the Sorbonne. He then went to Bonn, where he 

 studied under the direction of Hermann Schacht, from whom he 

 acquired the great manual dexterity which was necessary for the pre- 

 paration of microscopical specimens before the era of the microtome. 

 In Bonn he came under the influence of the great teacher Sachs. 

 Subsequently he studied under N. Pringsheim at Jena and received 

 the Doctor's degree in 1866. In 1868 he began his career as a teacher 

 at the University of Warsaw. In the following year he was called 

 to Jena, as extraordinarius, largely through the influence of Haeckel, 

 of whom he was an enthusiastic follower. In 1871 he became ordi- 

 narius at Jena. In Jena he married Alexandrine Wertheim of Warsaw. 

 Here were born his two children, a daughter and a son. In 1880 he 

 accepted a call to Bonn, where he remained until his death in May, 

 1912. 



Strasburger had to an unusual degree the power to arouse and inspire 

 his pupils. As a rule his laboratory had a large quota of students, of 

 whom the majority were foreigners. His custom was to visit each 

 student on his way to the morning lecture and it was astonishing to 

 see how quickly he would grasp each new situation and with a few 

 words outline the next step to be taken. His suggestions and his 

 example never failed to stimulate the student to do his best. His 

 insight into character and his remarkable tact accounted in no small 

 measure for his influence upon his pupils. 



His command of technique was unrivalled. He originated a large 

 number of the methods used in cytology. When he began his work 

 such methods were almost unknown: indeed it is commonly stated 

 that he was the first to use material fLxed and hardened in alcohol. 

 To the very end of his life he was busily engaged in improving cytologi- 

 cal methods. His Botanisches Practicum is a veritable encyclo- 

 paedia of technique and will always remain a model of its kind. 



It must not be supposed, however, that his skill in technique was 

 his principal asset. He had a keen analytical mind which delighted 

 in profound generalizations. He became interested in nearly all the 

 great botanical problems of his day and to most of them he made 

 contributions of lasting value. He followed with remarkable eager- 



