Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck

Biography

Nees von Esenbeck was born in Schloss Reichenberg near Reichelsheim (Odenwald) in Hesse, Germany. He showed an early interest in science and, after receiving his primary education in Darmstadt, went on to the University of Jena and obtained his degree in biology (natural history) and medicine in 1800. He practiced as a physician for Francis I (Erbach-Erbach), but he had developed a great interest in botany during his university studies which caused him to return to academia. In 1816, he joined the Leopoldina Academy, which was one of the most prestigious institutions in Europe. In 1817, he was appointed professor of botany at the University of Erlangen. Three years later, he became professor of natural history at the University of Bonn, where he established the Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. In 1831, he was appointed as a chair of botany department at the University of Breslau. In 1818, he was elected president of the Leopoldina Academy. He continued as president of the academy for the rest of his life. In botany he achieved notoriety for his contributions to the families Acanthaceae and Lauraceae.

He also became politically active in the German revolutions of 1848–1849. In 1851, due to conflicts with the government, he was deprived of his professorship and pension at Breslau. Seven years later, Nees von Esenbeck died essentially penniless in Breslau. He was an older brother to botanist Theodor Friedrich Ludwig Nees von Esenbeck (1787–1837).