Ferdinand Cohn

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Ferdinand Cohn

German botanist

Also known as: Ferdinand Julius Cohn

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 22, 2024 • Article History

Ferdinand Cohn

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In full:: Ferdinand Julius Cohn

Born:: January 24, 1828, Breslau, Silesia, Prussia [now Wrocław, Poland]

Died:: June 25, 1898, Breslau (aged 70)

Subjects Of Study:: algae; bacteria; endospore; fungus; taxonomy

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Ferdinand Cohn (born January 24, 1828, Breslau, Silesia, Prussia [now Wrocław, Poland]—died June 25, 1898, Breslau) was a German naturalist and botanist known for his studies of algae, bacteria, and fungi. He is considered one of the founders of bacteriology. Cohn was born in the ghetto of Breslau, the first of three sons of a Jewish merchant. His father spared no effort in the education of his precocious oldest child, and Ferdinand retained a melancholy recollection of his overly studious childhood. Cohn started his higher studies at the University of Breslau where, as a Jew, he could not be admitted ...(100 of 769 words)

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