Alexander Keyserling

Alexander Keyserling
Born 15 August 1815
Kabile Parish, present-day Latvia
Died 8 May 1891 (1891-05-09) (aged 75)
Raikküla Parish, present-day Estonia
Nationality Baltic German
Citizenship Russian Empire
Scientific career
Fields Geology
Botany
Author abbrev. (botany) Keyserl.

Count Alexander Friedrich Michael Lebrecht Nikolaus Arthur von Keyserling (15 August 1815 in Kabile Parish – 8 May 1891 in Raikküla) was a Baltic German geologist and paleontologist from the Keyserlingk family of Baltic German nobility.

Career

A descendant of Herman Karl von Keyserling, Alexander is considered to be one of the founders of Russian geology, making many expeditions on behalf of Nicholas I of Russia.

He was also a botanist and zoologist who wrote Die wirbelthiere Europa's (Vertebrates of Europe) with Johann Heinrich Blasius. This work was published in 1840.[1]

Alexander's nephews include diplomat Heinrich von Keyserlingk and writer Eduard von Keyserling. Archibald von Keyserling, the first leader of the Latvian Navy, was his brother Eduard Ernst Hermann von Keyserling's grandson. Philosopher Hermann von Keyserling was his grandson.

Evolution

Keyserling was an advocate of the transmutation of species. In 1853, he wrote an article which suggested that species arose from the activity of "alien molecules" acting on the embryo. He believed that such molecules were transported by miasma.[2] In the third edition of On the Origin of Species published in 1861, Charles Darwin added a Historical Sketch that acknowledged the ideas of Keyserling.[2][3]

Darwin sent a copy of his book to Keyserling who was skeptical about the role of natural selection in evolution.[2] By 1886, however, he embraced most of Darwin's ideas claiming "I renounced my views which contradicted Darwin's theory, and I consider that the changes of the embryo arise not by means of external action of certain molecules but by the influence of selection and heredity."[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Die wirbelthiere Europa's". Hathi Trust Digital Library. F. Vieweg und sohn. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rogers, James Allen. (1973). The Reception of Darwin's Origin of Species by Russian Scientists. Isis 64 (4): 484-503.
  3. ↑ "The Origin of Species". Preface to the Third Edition.
  4. ↑ IPNI.  Keyserl.
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