Eduard Oscar Schmidt

Who was Eduard Oscar Schmidt?

Eduard Oscar Schmidt was a German zoologist and phycologist.

He initially studied mathematics and science at Halle, then continued his education in Berlin, where he came under the influence of Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg and Johannes Peter Müller. In 1847 he received his habilitation at the University of Jena, becoming an associate professor during the following year. In 1855 was he appointed professor of zoology at the University of Cracow. Later he taught classes at the Universities of Graz and Strasbourg.

Schmidt was an early proponent of Darwinian evolutionary thought. He is remembered for his research of Porifera, particularly species from the Adriatic Sea. Schmidt also made contributions to the field of phycology.

As far back as 1862 Oscar Schmidt showed that " cuttings " of sponges will attach themselves and grow. This idea was followed out in the experiments of Croatian scientist Grgur Bučić on the island of Hvar, from 1863-1872, but these experiments were brought to a close by the hostility of the native fishermen.