Jonathan Carl Zenker

Who was Jonathan Carl Zenker?

Jonathan Carl Zenker was a German naturalist born in Sundremda, located in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district.

Originally a student of theology at the University of Jena, he subsequently devoted his energies to science and medicine. From 1823 he lived in Dresden, later returning to Jena, where on the basis of his dissertation "Batrachomyologia", he became a privat-docent of natural history. In 1828 he became an associate professor of botany and natural history, followed by a full professorship in 1836.

A genus of grasses called Zenkeria is named in his honour.