Page "August Weismann" Paragraph 4

Weismann was born a son of high school teacher Johann ( Jean ) Konrad Weismann ( 1804 – 1880 ), a graduate of ancient languages and theology, and his wife Elise ( 1803 – 1850 ), née Lübbren, the daughter of the county councillor and mayor von Stade, on January 17, 1834 in Frankfurt am Main.

He had a typical 19th century bourgeois education, receiving music lessons from the age of four, and drafting and painting lessons from Jakob Becker ( 1810 – 1872 ) at the Frankfurter Städelsche Institut from the age of 14.

His piano teacher was a devoted butterfly collector and introduced him to the collecting of imagos and caterpillars.

But studying natural sciences was out of the question due to the cost involved and limited job prospects.

A friend of the family, Friedrich Wöhler ( 1800 – 1882 ), recommended studying medicine.

A foundation from the inheritance of Weismann's mother allowed him to take up studies in Göttingen.

Following his graduation in 1856, he wrote his dissertation on the synthesis of hippuric acid in the human body.