Theodor Schwann (1810–1882)

Excerpt

Theodor Schwann (Fig. 1), the eminent founder of modern histology and the discoverer of the lemmocyte, was born on December 7, 1810 in Neuss, Germany, the fourth son of Elisabeth (née Rottels) and Leonard Schwann, the owner of a local bookstore. Theodor grew up in a large family—he had twelve siblings. As a child, he proved to be multi-talented and hardworking. He initially intended to study theology, but, over time, he changed his mind and chose medicine. After graduating from the Jesuit Gymnasium in Cologne in 1829, he enrolled at the University of Bonn, where, two years later, he obtained a bachelor's degree in philosophy. It was there that he first met Johannes Müller (1801–1858), an outstanding German physiologist. Schwann not only attended Müller’s lectures, but also helped the professor in laboratory research on spinal roots. Then, in the years 1831–1833, he continued his education at the University of Würzburg, where he listened to the lectures of another illustrious scientist, Johann Schönlein (1793–1864). For the final semester of his studies he moved to Berlin, following his first mentor, Müller [1‐3]. In 1834, he passed the state medical examination and obtained the title of doctor of medicine. Schwann’s dissertation De necessitate aëris atmosphaerici ad evolutionem pulli in ovo incubato, written in Latin, discussed chicken embryo development and was inspired and supervised by Müller, who entrusted him with the position of assistant at the anatomy museum [2, 3].

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