THE RISE OF EMBRYOLOGY 215 
The observations for the first part began in 1810, after he 
had received a copy of Pander’s researches, and covered a 
period of seven years of close devotion to the subject; and 
the observations for the last part were carried on at intervals 
for several years. 
It is significant of the character of his Reflexionen that, 
although published before the announcement of the cell- 
theory, and before the acceptance of the doctrine of organic 
evolution, they have exerted a molding influence upon 
embryology to the present time. The position of von Baer 
in embryology is owing as much to his sagacity in specula- 
tion as to his powers as an observer. ‘‘Never again have 
observation and thought been so successfully combined in 
embryological work” (Minot). 
Von Baer was born in 1792, and lived on to 1876, but his 
enduring fame in embryology rests on work completed more 
than forty years before the end of his useful life. After his 
removal from KGnigsberg to St. Petersburg, in 1834, he very 
largely devoted himself to anthropology in its widest sense, 
and thereby extended his scientific reputation into other 
fields. 
If space permitted, it would be intcresting to give the 
biography * of this extraordinary man, but here it will be 
necessary to content ourselves with an examination of his 
portraits and a brief account of his work. 
Portraits.—Several portraits of von Baer showing him 
at different periods of his life have been published. A very 
attractive one, taken in his early manhood, appeared in 
Harper's Magazine for 1898. ‘The expression of the face is 
poetical, and the picture is interesting to compare with the 
more matured, sage-like countenance forming the frontispiece 
* Besides biographical sketches by Stieda, Waldeyer, and others, we have 
a very entertaining autobiography of Von Baer, published in 1864, for pri- 
vate circulation, but afterward (1866) reprinted and placed on sale. 
