Eduard Oskar Schmidt

Place: Torgau

Born: 1823

Death: 1886

Biography:

Eduard Oscar Schmidt (21 February 1823, in Torgau – 17 January 1886, in Kappelrodeck) was a German zoologist and phycologist. He initially studied mathematics and science at Halle, then continued his education in Berlin, where he came under the influence of Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg and Johannes Peter Müller. In 1847 he received his habilitation at the University of Jena, becoming an associate professor during the following year. In 1855 was he appointed professor of zoology at the University of Cracow. Later he taught classes at the Universities of Graz (from 1857) and Strasbourg (from 1872 till his death in 1886). Schmidt was an early proponent of Darwinian evolutionary thought. He is remembered for his research of Porifera (sponges), particularly species from the Adriatic Sea. Schmidt also made contributions in the field of phycology.