Theodor Wilhelm Engelmann
| T.W. Engelmann | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 14 November 1843 Leipzig |
| Died |
20 May 1909 (aged 65) Berlin |
| Residence | Germany |
| Citizenship | German |
| Fields | Physiology |
| Institutions | University of Utrecht, University of Berlin |
| Known for | Discoveries concerning the operation of muscles; discoveries concerning photosynthesis |
Theodor Wilhelm Engelmann (14 November 1843 – 20 May 1909) was a German botanist, physiologist, microbiologist, university professor, and musician whose 1882 experiment measured the effects of different colors of light on photosynthetic activity and showed that the conversion of light energy to chemical energy took place in the chloroplast.
Engelmann studied natural science and medicine first at the University of Jena, from 1861 to 1862, and later at the University of Heidelberg, the University of Göttingen and the University of Leipzig. In 1867, he received a doctoral degree in medicine at Leipzig.
From 1870 he taught physiology at the University of Utrecht, becoming a professor in 1877. In 1897, he began teaching physiology at the University of Berlin, where he also became the editor of the Archiv für Anatomie und Physiologie. He retired in 1908, but continued to serve as editor until his death.
Engelmann's major contribution to the field of physiology emerged from a study lasting from 1873 to 1897, in which he observed the contractions of striated muscles. Focusing on the visible bands of fibers in the muscles, he noted that the volume of the anistropic band increased during contraction, whereas the volume of the isotropic band decreased. He theorized that it was this interaction between the two bands which allowed for muscle contraction.
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