Engelmann, Theodor Wilhelm

Born Nov. 14, 1843, in Leipzig; died May 20, 1909, in Berlin. German naturalist.

Engelmann attended the universities of Utrecht (Netherlands), Jena, Leipzig, Heidelberg, and Göttingen. He became a professor at the University of Utrecht in 1871 and at the University of Berlin in 1897.

Engelmann’s main works dealt with the physiology of the nervous and muscle systems, the eye, and the heart. His research on carbon dioxide assimilation in plants is well known. In 1888, Engelmann discovered the assimilation of carbon dioxide in purple bacteria. He was the author of a theory establishing the link between the color of aquatic plants and their distribution at various depths. Engelmann invented and perfected several devices for physiological research; he also proposed a bacteriological method for studying the assimilation of CO₂. Engelmann became a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences in 1895.