Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer

Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer was a German botanist and botanical historian. Born in the Electorate of Hanover, he lectured in Göttingen and in 1826 became a professor of botany at the University of Königsberg, as well as Director of the Botanical Garden. His botanical specialty was the Juncaceae - a family of rushes. His major work was the four-volume Geschichte der Botanik. His history covered ancient authorities such as Aristotle and Theophrastus, explored the beginnings of modern botany in the context of 15th- and 16th-century intellectual practice, and offered a wealth of biographical data on early modern botanists. Julius von Sachs pronounced him "no great botanist" but admitted that he "possessed a clever and cultivated intellect."