Walther Hesse

Walther Hesse (27 December 1846 – 19 July 1911) is best known for his work in microbiology, specifically his work in developing agar as a medium for culturing microorganisms.

Biography

Born in Bischofswerda, Lusatia, as one of 12 children in the family of a medical practitioner, Hesse attended the Kreuzschule in Dresden and studied medicine at the University of Leipzig with Ernst Leberecht Wagner from 1866 till 1870, when he received his doctorate in pathology. Afterwards he participated in the Franco-Prussian War, and therein in the Battle of Gravelotte.

As a ship's doctor on the New York Line 1872/73 he examined seasickness – his works were classified by Prof. Gavingel of Le Havre as the first scientific study on this topic at all. In New York, Hesse met his later wife Angelina Fanny Eilshemius. The Eilshemius family were immigrants of Dutch-German origin – Angelina's brother Louis Eilshemius is known as an important painter, Swiss painter Louis Léopold Robert was their common grandfather. Walther and Angelina married 1874 in Geneva, together with Angelina's sister and a nephew of Louis Agassiz.

Hesse

Hesse /ˈhɛs/ or Hessia (German: Hessen [ˈhɛsn̩], Hessian dialect: Hesse [ˈhɛzə]) is a federal state (Land) of the Federal Republic of Germany, with just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden; the largest city is Frankfurt am Main. Until the formation of the German Reich in 1871, Hesse was an independent country ruled by a Grand Duke (Grand Duchy of Hesse). Due to divisions after World War II, the modern federal state does not cover the entire cultural region of Hesse which includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen) in the neighbouring state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The English name "Hesse" originates in the Hessian dialects. The variant "Hessia" comes from the medieval Latin Hassia. The German term Hessen is used by the European Commission because their policy is to leave regional names untranslated (paragraphs 1.31 & 1.35). The term "Hesse" ultimately derives from a Germanic tribe called the Chatti, who settled in the region in the first century B.C. An inhabitant of Hesse is called a Hessian (German: Hesse (masculine) or Hessin (feminine)). The synthetic element hassium, number 108 on the periodic table, is named after the state of Hesse.

Hesse (disambiguation)

Hesse is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.

Hesse may also refer to:

Sports

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Hesse (surname)

Hesse is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:

See also