Matthias Jakob Schleiden

Matthias Jakob Schleiden, German botanist (died 1881)

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Born: April 5, 1804
Died: June 23, 1881
Zodiac sign: Aries
Birth year: 1804

About Matthias Jakob Schleiden

Matthias Jakob Schleiden (German: [maˈtiːas ˈjaːkɔp ˈʃlaɪdn̩]; 5 April 1804 – 23 June 1881) was a German botanist and co-founder of cell theory, along with Theodor Schwann and Rudolf Virchow. He published some poems and non-scientific work under the pseudonym Ernst. == Career == Matthias Jakob Schleiden was born in Hamburg. on 5 April 1804. His father was the municipal physician of Hamburg. Schleiden pursued legal studies graduating in 1827. He then established a legal practice but after a period of emotional depression and attempted suicide, he changed professions. The suicide attempt left a prominent scar across his forehead. He studied natural science at the University of Göttingen in Göttingen, Germany, but transferred to the University of Berlin in 1835 to study plants. Johann Horkel, Schleiden's uncle, encouraged him to study plant embryology.

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Career and life highlights

Thus, Schleiden and Schwann became the first to formulate what was then an informal belief as a principle of biology equal in importance to the atomic theory of chemistry.
He also recognized the importance of the cell nucleus, discovered in 1831 by the Scottish botanist Robert Brown, and sensed its connection with cell division.

The world when Matthias Jakob Schleiden was born

Matthias Jakob Schleiden was born in 1804. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Headlines and milestones

Top headlineLewis and Clark expedition begins
Technology milestoneMorphine isolated for the first time
World population~920M

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderThomas Jefferson
U.S. population6.1M

1804 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Matthias Jakob Schleiden's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1804	2026
Population	6.1M	341 million

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