Abraham Trembley
Abraham Trembley
Born	September 3, 1710
Died	May 12, 1784
Nationality	Swiss
Fields	naturalist
Known for	hydra (genus)
Notable awards	Copley Medal, 1743

Abraham Trembley (September 3, 1710 – May 12, 1784) was a Swiss naturalist. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1710 ( MDCCX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Natural history is the Scientific research of Plants or Animals leaning more towards the Observational than Experimental methods Hydra is a Genus of simple fresh-water animals possessing radial symmetry. The Copley Medal is a scientific award for distinguished achievement in any field of Science established by the Royal Society of London in 1731 Year 1743 ( MDCCXLIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1710 ( MDCCX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Natural history is the Scientific research of Plants or Animals leaning more towards the Observational than Experimental methods He is best known for being the first to study freshwater polyps or hydra and for being among the first to develop experimental zoology. Hydra is a Genus of simple fresh-water animals possessing radial symmetry. Zoology (from Greek ζῷον, zoon, "animal" + λόγος, " Logos " "knowledge" is the branch of His mastery of experimental method has led some historians of science to credit him as the "father of biology". Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles ^[1]

Biography

Trembley's laboratory, as depicted in his 1744 book. Judging from his correspondence, though, his laboratory was in fact much more crowded with objects, such as up to 140 specimen jars. ^[2]

Trembley came from an officer's family from Geneva, where he studied mathematics before taking up the career of a tutor in the Netherlands. Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and In British Australian New Zealand Italian and some Canadian universities, a tutor is often but not always a Postgraduate Student or a Lecturer The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands In 1736, while in charge of Count Bentinck's sons at the mansion of Sorgvliet near the Hague, he started working as a zoologist after discovering hydra in the stream flowing through the estate. Year 1736 ( MDCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Bentinck is the Surname of a prominent Family belonging to the Dutch and British Nobility.

Work on hydra

A hydra as depicted in Trembley's 1744 book.

While Trembley thought he had discovered a new species, Leeuwenhoek had in fact first published on hydra in 1702, describing them as a type of plant. Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek (October 24 1632 &ndash August 30 1723 was a Dutch tradesman and Scientist from Delft, the Netherlands Year 1702 ( MDCCII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

Trembley's findings were published in a 1744 book, Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire d'un genre de polypes d'eau douce, translated into German in 1791 as Abhandlungen zur Geschichte einer Polypenart des süssen Wassers.

Some attribute Trembley as being the first to study stem cells, although he obviously did not refer to them as such. Stem cells are cells found in most if not all multi-cellular Organisms. Trembley did however make note of their incredible regenerative capacity.

References

• Breen, Quirinus (January 1956). "Baker, John R., Abraham Trembley of Geneva, Scientist and Philosopher, 1710-1784". Journal of the Medical Library Association 44: 84-85.  
• Ratcliff, Marc J. (December 2004). "Abraham Trembley’s Strategy of Generosity and the Scope of Celebrity in the Mid-Eighteenth Century". Isis 95 (4): 555-575. Isis is an Academic journal published by The University of Chicago Press devoted to the History of science, History of medicine  
• Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery, entries on Abraham Trembley, as reproduced on http://www.bookrags.com/Abraham_Trembley.
• Animal, Vegetable and Mineral: Natural History books by ten authors, on-line exhibit, Sheridan Libraries, Johns Hopkins University
• Online biography, Institute and Museum of the History of Science, Florence

Footnotes

1. ^ See Ratcliff, op. The Institute and Museum of the History of Science ( Italian: Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, IMSS is based in Florence, Italy Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany cit. , p. 556, n. 1.
2. ^ See Ratcliff, op. cit. , p. 569.