Albert the Great (variously known as Albertus Magnus, Albert the German, Albert of Ratisborn, or Albert of Cologne), was the only scholar of his age to have received this title of "the Great," which was also used before his death. He is also referred to as doctor universalis for his wide spectrum of knowledge and interests, as an advocate for Aristotelianism at the University of Paris, and as the teacher of Thomas Aquinas.

Albert was the eldest son of the Count of Böllstadt, a wealthy German lord, and was born in 1206 in the castle of Lauingen on the Danube River in the southern German province of Swabia. Albert's early schooling included instruction in the arts as well as acquiring detailed knowledge of natural phenomena, which later proved its significance in his botanical writings. After his early schooling, Albert attended the University of Padua in northern Italy...