Jacques Loeb (April 7, 1859 – February 11, 1924) was a German-born American physiologist and biologist. April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). ... 1859 (MDCCCLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Physiology (in Greek physis = nature and logos = word) is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms. ... A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of organisms. ...

Biography

Born in Mayen, Prussia, he was educated at the universities of Berlin, Munich, and Strasburg (M. D. 1884). He took a postgraduate course at the universities of Strasburg and Berlin, and in 1886 became assistant at the physiological institute of the University of Würzburg, remaining there till 1888, when he went in a similar capacity to Strasburg. During his vacations he pursued biological researches, at Kiel in 1888, and at Naples in 1889 and 1890. In 1892 he was called to the University of Chicago as assistant professor of physiology and experimental biology, becoming associate professor in 1895, and professor of physiology in 1899. In 1902 he was called to fill a similar chair at the University of California. In 1910 Loeb moved to the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York, where he headed a department created for him. He remained at Rockefeller (now Rockefeller University) until his death. Mayen is a town of Germany, in the Mayen-Koblenz district of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the northern declivity of the Eifel range, 16 m. ... Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 Prussia (German: ; Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Lithuanian: ; Polish: ; Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa) was, most recently, a historic state originating in East Prussia, an area which for centuries had substantial influence on German and European history. ... Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich: St. ... Strasburg is the name of several places: Strasburg, Colorado (USA) divided between Adams County, Colorado and Arapahoe County, Colorado Strasburg, Illinois (USA) Strasburg, Michigan (USA) Strasburg, Missouri (USA) Strasburg, North Dakota (USA) Strasburg, Ohio (USA) Strasburg, Pennsylvania (USA) Strasburg, Virginia (USA) Strasbourg, Saskatchewan (Can) Strasburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Germany) the... Strasburg is the name of several places: Strasburg, Colorado (USA) divided between Adams County, Colorado and Arapahoe County, Colorado Strasburg, Illinois (USA) Strasburg, Michigan (USA) Strasburg, Missouri (USA) Strasburg, North Dakota (USA) Strasburg, Ohio (USA) Strasburg, Pennsylvania (USA) Strasburg, Virginia (USA) Strasbourg, Saskatchewan (Can) Strasburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Germany) the... Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... [ recorded in this] The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Kiel ( ) is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the Bundesland Schleswig-Holstein. ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Bay of Naples Naples (Italian: , Neapolitan: Nàpule, from Greek Νεάπολη < Νέα Πόλις Néa Pólis New City) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of the Campania region and the Province of Naples. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The University of California (UC) is a public university system in the state of California. ...

Through most of these years Loeb spent his summers at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., performing experiments on various marine invertebrates. It was at MBL that Loeb did his most famous experiment, on artificial parthenogenesis. Loeb was able to cause the eggs of sea urchins to begin embryonic development without sperm. This was achieved by slight chemical modifications of the water in which the eggs were kept.

Loeb became one of the most famous scientists in America, widely covered in newspapers and magazines. He was the model for the character of Max Gottlieb in Sinclair Lewis's Pulitzer-winning novel Arrowsmith, the first great work of fiction to idealize and idolize pure science.

Loeb was nominated many times for the Nobel Prize but never won.

Research area

The main subjects of his works are:

• Animal tropisms and their relation to the instincts of animals
• Heteromorphosis, i.e., substitution at will of one organ of an animal for another
• Toxic and antitoxic effects of ions
• Artificial parthenogenesis
• Hybridization of the eggs of sea-urchins by the sperm of starfish.

Works

Among Loeb's works may be mentioned:

• Heliotropismus der Thiere und Seine Identität mit dem Heliotropismus der Pflanzen Würzburg, 1889
• Physiologische Morphologie part i., ib. 1890; part ii., ib. 1891
• Vergleichende Physiologie des Gehirns und Vergleichende Psychologie Leipsic, 1899; edition in English, New York, 1900.A. F. T

Loeb's most famous and most influential work was The Mechanistic Conception of Life, originally published in 1912 and republished in 1964 with an introduction by Donald Fleming, the Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. It contains English translations of some of his previous publications, which were in German.

Links

• Loeb Family Tree

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.