150 Jahre “Biogenetisches Grundgesetz”

150 years “Biogenetic Law” The zoologist Ernst Haeckel is one of the most well‐known, but also one of the most controversial scientists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of the earliest Darwinists and a forceful advocate of evolutionary theory. Together with “Darwin's Bulldog” Thomas Henry Huxley, Haeckel was a central figure in the early history and popularization of Darwinism. But his name is not only a symbol for the disputes about the theory of evolution and its popularization, but also for a campaign for monism, a world‐view or philosophy created by Haeckel himself. Together with Fritz Müller, Ernst Haeckel was one of the first to formulate a “Biogenetic Law”. He also created several concepts and terms still in use in biology today, such as “ontogeny”, “phylogeny”, “ecology”, “cholorogy” and “phylum” in his first, and maybe most important book “General Morphology of Organism”, which was published in 1866, 150 years ago.     

Karl Ernst Ritter von Baer

The discoverer of the egg‐cell: Karl Ernst von Baer Being a versatile scientist of great influence, the Baltic aristocrat Karl Ernst von Baer (1792–1876) became the originator of comparative ontogeny. During his time as professor at Königsberg University von Baer, who formerly studied medicine, developed a deep interest in processes of recapitulation during embryonic growth and discovered the spinal cord and the mammalian egg‐cell. After retirement he became one of the most prominent opponents of Charles Darwin. Von Baer established several scientific laws, societies and journals.