Franz Cornelius Donders [3] ( Dutch: Franciscus Cornelis Donders ; May 27, 1818, Tilburg - March 24, 1889, Utrecht ) - Dutch biologist , physiologist and ophthalmologist, founder of the Netherlands Eye Hospital.
| Franz Cornelius Donders | |
|---|---|
| niderl. Franciscus cornelis donders | |
 | |
| Birth name | |
| Date of Birth | May 27, 1818 |
| Place of Birth | Tilburg |
| Date of death | March 24, 1889 (aged 70) |
| A place of death | Utrecht , Netherlands |
| A country | Netherlands |
| Scientific field | physiology , ophthalmology |
| Place of work | University of Utrecht |
| Alma mater | University of Utrecht |
| supervisor | |
| Famous students | |
| Awards and prizes | [d] |
The spelling of the name of a scientist in different sources varies. The first name is found in the variants of France [4] and Francis [5] , the second - in the version of Cornelis [4] .
Biography
Franz Donders was the last child in a large family (he had eight older sisters). He grew up without a father, who died immediately after his birth. At the age of 11, thanks to his abilities, he was already able to earn tutoring. At the age of 17, he began to study medicine at the University of Utrecht. After completing the course and practicing medicine in Vlissingen , Donders became a military surgeon in The Hague . Soon the young doctor was invited to give lectures on anatomy , histology and physiology at the Military Medical School, formed at the University of Utrecht.
At this time, he began to do a lot of scientific research and publish. One of the articles of 1844 was devoted to the energy of living organisms, and in it a young scientist stated that animal heat is the heat of chemical reactions that occur in the body. In another article, 1846, he challenged the prevailing opinion about the emergence of species as a result of independent acts of creation, suggesting that modern forms of life are the result of the continuous operation of natural laws throughout the ages. Following the publication of Origin of Species , Donders became one of Darwin's most staunch advocates.
In 1847, Donders was appointed extraordinary professor. He himself chose the courses that he would like to teach students: forensic medicine, general biology, anthropology and ophthalmology. At this time, he was more engaged in biology and physiology, an ophthalmology course was added because he needed funds to support the family. For the same reasons, he undertook to translate the famous Rühte ophthalmology treatise from German. He was especially interested in the physiology of vision in this essay.
Arriving in London at the World Exhibition in 1851, the Donders met two prominent clinicians of the time, Albrecht von Graefe and Sir William Bowman , who was one of the first to use the Helmholtz ophthalmoscope in his practice. Inspired by new scientific ideas in ophthalmology, Donders, on his return to Utrecht, took up the theory and practice of eye diseases. A few years later, fellow citizens collected 40 thousand florins for the construction of an eye hospital with a capacity of 40 beds, which became not only a medical institution, but also a research center at the university. For the sake of working at the hospital, Donders refused an invitation to the University of Bonn as a physiology professor from Helmholtz. The following years were very fruitful for the scientist. From 1858 to 1864, he published a series of works on ophthalmology, which became classic. The collection, published in London in 1864, contained a new teaching on the theory and practice of correcting visual anomalies using lenses.
When in 1862 the professor's place was vacated at the Department of Physiology, Donders agreed to take him, all the more so since a new physiological laboratory was created for him (in 1866). The eye clinic was led by a student of Donders. The physiological studies of Franz Donders had a wide range. He was distinguished by great scientific productivity and left a significant mark on each subject studied - be it the physiology of speech, the speed of nerve reactions, muscle contractions, cardiac activity, respiration chemistry, color vision and color blindness , as well as many other topics.
With a speaker's outstanding gift and language ability, Donders often presided over academic meetings. He was president of two International Ophthalmology Congresses - the Fourth, which took place in London in 1872, and the Seventh - in Heidelberg in 1888, as well as the Sixth International Medical Congress in Amsterdam (1879) and the vice-president of the Seventh International Medical Congress in London (1881 year).
Donders led the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences , was a foreign member of the Royal Society of London and a foreign corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences .
Notes
- ↑ Catalogus Professorum Academiae Rheno-Traiectinae
- ↑ Mathematical Genealogy - 1997.
- ↑ Donders F.K. - General information . RAS (December 2, 2002). Date of treatment June 7, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 Donders France Cornelis // Big Encyclopedic Dictionary / ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - SPb. : Norint, 2000 .-- S. 371 . - ISBN 5-85270-160-2 .
- ↑ The History of Biology from Ancient Times to the Present / Ed. S.R. Mikulinsky . - M .: Nauka, 1972. - T. 1: The history of biology from ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century. - S. 544. - 658 p.
Links
- Duke-Elder S. Franciscus Cornelis Donders // The British journal of ophthalmology. - 1959. - T. 43 , no. 2 . - S. 65-68 . - DOI : 10.1136 / bjo.43.2.65 . - PMID 13628947 .
- Short biography, bibliography