1805-1872

German Botanist

German botanist Hugo von Mohl was one of the first to use the microscope to study the nature of plant cell structure and the physiology of higher plants. He is credited with recognizing and naming protoplasm and proposing that cells divide to form new cells.

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, on April 8, 1805, Mohl was part of a respected middle-class family who placed a great deal of value on scholarship. Brother Jules became a naturalized Frenchman and professor of Persian. Two other brothers were respected in the fields of economics and politics. However, from an early age Mohl's interest was science, especially botany and optics. He had a happy childhood and adolescence, and his university career and personal life were pleasant with few difficulties.

Mohl received a doctor of medicine at Tübingen in 1828. Interest in the puzzling mystery of climbing plants led...