Johannes Max Proskauer

Who was Johannes Max Proskauer?

Johannes Max Proskauer was born in Göttingen, Germany. He attended the University of London, which awarded him a B.Sc. in 1944, a Ph.D. in 1947, and a D.Sc. in 1964, all in the field of botany.

In 1948, Proskauer moved to Berkeley, California, where he became an instructor in botany at the University of California, Berkeley. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1954. He became a United States citizen in 1957.

Professor Proskauer's thesis research was concerned with the biology and morphology of the British species of the hornwort Anthoceros. Much of his life's work focussed on this group, and in 1951, he recognized and defined the genus Phaeoceros for the first time. He continued to work at Berkeley on the morphology and cytology on the hornworts and also the liverworts.

He died in 1970, leaving a legacy of careful and meticulous study.