Abraham Trembley

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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. He is best known for being the first to study freshwater polyps or hydra and for being among the first to develop experimental zoology. His mastery of experimental method has led some historians of science to credit him as the "father of biology".^[1]

1 Biography
2 Work on hydra
3 References
4 Footnotes

[edit] 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. 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.

[edit] 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.

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. Trembley did however make note of their incredible regenerative capacity.^{[citation needed]}