Julius Sachs

Sachs, Julius

 

Born Oct. 2, 1832, in Breslau, present-day Wroclaw, Poland; died May 29, 1897, in Würzburg. German botanist.

Sachs was a professor at the agricultural academy in Poppels-dorf (from 1861), at the University of Freiburg (from 1867), and at the University of Würzburg (from 1868). He widely employed the experimental method in his study of plant physiology, thus greatly influencing the science’s development in the 19th century. His principal works were on photosynthesis, transport of matter in plants, mineral feeding, water regimen, plant growth and movement, and seed sprouting. Sachs showed the connection between the formation of starch and the absorption of CO2 in the presence of light. He also studied the physiological anatomy of plants and the history of botany.

REFERENCE

Pringsheim, E. G. Julius Sachs der Begründer der neueren Pflanzen-physiologie: 1832–1897. Jena, 1932. (References.)