Friedrich August Körnicke

Who was Friedrich August Körnicke?

Friedrich August Körnicke was a German agronomist and botanist born in Pratau. He was the father of agricultural botanist Max Koernicke.

Körnicke studied sciences at Humboldt University of Berlin, where in 1856 he earned his doctorate. As a student he participated in numerous botanical field trips, and at the university was influenced by distinguished botanists that included Alexander Braun and Johannes von Hanstein. After graduation he worked as curator of the herbarium at the botanical gardens in St. Petersburg.

From 1858 to 1867 he taught classes at the Landwirtschaftlichen Akademie Waldau near Königsberg. Afterwards he was successor to Julius Sachs as professor of botany at the Agricultural Academy of Poppelsdorf in Bonn, a position he maintained until 1898.

Körnicke was a leading authority on cereal grains, especially wheat. At Bonn he conducted important investigations of agricultural crops, and performed systematic research involving improved varieties of grain. With agricultural scientist Hugo Werner, he published a landmark textbook on grain cultivation called Handbuch des Getreidebaues.