Georg August Goldfuss

Georg August Goldfuß
Georg August Goldfuß; by Adolf Hohneck (1841)
Born(1782-04-18)18 April 1782
Died2 October 1848(1848-10-02) (aged 66)
Illustration of class Protozoa, order Infusoria, family Monades by Goldfuß

Georg August Goldfuß ( 18 April 1782 – 2 October 1848) was a German palaeontologist, zoologist and botanist.

Goldfuß was born at Thurnau near Bayreuth. He was educated at Erlangen, where he graduated PhD in 1804 and became professor of zoology in 1818. He was subsequently appointed professor of zoology and mineralogy at the University of Bonn. Aided by Count Georg zu Münster, he issued the important Petrefacta Germaniae (1826–44), a work which was intended to illustrate the invertebrate fossils of Germany, but it was left incomplete after the sponges, corals, crinoids, echinoderms and part of the mollusca had been figured.[1] A collection of Goldfuß' botanical specimens are housed at Bonn University.[2]

Goldfuß died in Bonn.[1]

In 1820, he coined the word protozoa to refer to single-celled organisms such as ciliates.[3]

  1. ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
  2. ^ "HUH entry for George August Goldfuss". Index of Botanists. Harvard University Herbarium. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  3. ^ Scamardella, J. M. (1999). "Not plants or animals: a brief history of the origin of Kingdoms Protozoa, Protista and Protoctista" (PDF). International Microbiology. 2 (4): 207–221. PMID 10943416. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2011.
  4. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Goldfuss.