Heinrich Anton de Bary (26 January 183119 January 1888) was a German surgeon, botanist, microbiologist, and mycologist (fungal systematics and physiology).
He is considered a founding father of plant pathology (phytopathology) as well as the founder of modern mycology. His extensive and careful studies of the life history of fungi and contribution to the understanding of algae and higher plants established landmarks in biology.
Early life and education
Born in Frankfurt to physician August Theodor de Bary (1802–1873) and Emilie Meyer de Bary, Anton de Bary was one of ten children.
Early career
After graduation, de Bary briefly practiced medicine in Frankfurt, but he was drawn back to botany and became Privatdozent in botany at the University of Tübingen, where he worked for a while as an assistant to Hugo von Mohl (1805–1872). In 1855, he succeeded the botanist Karl Wilhelm von Nägeli (1818–1891) at Freiburg, where he established the most advanced botanical laboratory at the time and directed many students. He was also elected as the inaugural rector of the reorganized university.
His 1884 book Vergleichende Morphologie und Biologie der Pilze, Mycetozoen und Bakterien was translated into English as Comparative Morphology and Biology of the Fungi, Mycetozoa, and Bacteria (Clarendon Press, 1887).
Fungi and plant diseases
De Bary was devoted to the study of the life history of fungi. At that time, various fungi were still considered to arise via spontaneous generation. Anton's father and his brother Johann Jakob de Bary were respected doctors in Frankfurt. His mother was Caroline Emilie von Meyer (1805–1887), whose family produced two renowned scientists.
De Bary married Antonie Einert (21 January 1831, Leipzig – 22 May 1892, Thann, Alsace–Lorraine) in 1861; they raised four children: Wilhelm, August, Marie and Hermann. Antonie was a talented artist and painter, particularly of plants, who contributed to her husband's scientific work. He was elected to Honorary membership of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society on 9 February 1886 .
He died on 19 January 1888 in Strasbourg, of a tumor of the jaw, after undergoing extensive surgery.