Ernst Haeckel

1
Ernst Haeckel

• 1834 - 1919

2
Life and Education

• Born in Prussia to well-educated Protestant
  parents
• Studied medicine at Wurzburg and the University
  of Berlin from 1852-57
• Studied with Johannes Muller, who introduced
  Haeckel to marine biology and Albert von
  Kolliker, a physiologist who introduced him to
  microscopic work.
• Traveled to Messina, Italy to paint and
  considered making art his career
• Got his doctoral degree in zoology, studying
  under Carl Gegenbaur at the University of Jena
• Became a professor of comparative anatomy at the
  University of Jena for 47 years

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Inspiration

• Very inspired by Darwins Origin of Species, and
  thought it confirmed his suspicion that different
  species of Radiolarians evolved from a common
  ancestor.
• Influenced by the natural philosophy of Wolfgang
  von Goethe and the French naturalist,
  Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck
• Thought Darwin, Lamarck, and Goethe were the
  three fathers of the theory of descent.

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Major Accomplishments

• Discovered hundreds of marine species
• Mapped a genealogical tree relating all life
  forms
• Coined the terms phylogeny, ecology, and the
  kingdom Protista
• Made detailed drawings of embryos and marine life

• Popularized Darwin in Germany
• Came up with the Recapitulation Theory, also
  called biogenetic law
• Argued for the teaching of evolution in Freedom
  in Science and Teaching.

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Haeckels Recapitulation Theory

• Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny
• An individual organisms biological development
  (ontogeny) parallels and summarizes the
  evolutionary development of the species
  (phylogeny)
• Theory has been discredited since the early 20th
  century.
• While ontogeny and phylogeny are closely related
  and intertwined, there is by no means a
  one-to-one relationship between them.

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Selected Published Works

• The Artforms of Nature illustrations of animal
  and sea creatures (1904)
• The Riddle of the Universe or World-Riddle,
  philosophy on the nature and origin of the
  universe (1895-1899)
• The History of Creation (1868)
• Freedom in Science and Teaching (1877)
• Systematic Phylogeny (1894)
• Anthropogenie (1874/1903) evolution of man

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Haeckels Artistic Pursuits
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Embryo Fraud

• Unfortunately, Haeckel used his artistic talents
  to strengthen his arguments for common ancestry
• He subtly changed aspects of embryos to reflect
  his theories
• Though he confessed to having fudged the drawings
  during his lifetime, the confession was lost and
  his embryonic drawings were newly discredited
  within the last 20 years

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Other Controversies

• Haeckel attempted to create a genealogical tree
  reflecting a hierarchy of human races, placing
  white Europeans above many other races
• His theories were used by the Nazi party to
  confirm their belief in Aryan supremacy after his
  death

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Summary

• Haeckel was a German Romantic who was willing to
  fudge the truth to make his theories work
• Began the study of phylogeny
• Mapped out a genealogical tree that was used as a
  conceptual model until the 1970s
• Was a great advocate for the teaching of
  evolution and the eradication of religious dogma
  from science
• Didnt quite pick up where Darwin left off, but
  made important contributions nonetheless

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Resources

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Haeckel
• http//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/haeckel.html
• http//www.slate.com/id/2124625/
• http//www.greenspirit.org.uk/resources/Haeckel.ht
  m
• http//www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/251305/E
  rnst-Haeckel
•  http//www.jstor.org/stable/3651139
•  http//www.jstor.org/stable/2893598