author
Franz Doflein
1873–1924
A German zoologist with a taste for fieldwork and big scientific questions, he helped connect careful observation in nature with the study of tiny organisms under the microscope. His writing ranges from protozoa and animal ecology to vivid travel accounts drawn from expeditions in East Asia and Macedonia.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in Paris on April 5, 1873, Franz Theodor Doflein became a German zoologist known for work that stretched across protozoology, systematic zoology, and animal ecology. He studied in Munich and Strasbourg, and his career later took him to major academic posts in Munich, Freiburg, and Breslau.
Doflein worked on a wide range of animals, including crabs and ants, but he was especially noted for his studies of protozoa and for writing an influential textbook on the subject that appeared in several editions. He also had a strong interest in how animals live and interact in their environments, which helped make his scientific work broader and more lively than a narrow specialist's.
Alongside his laboratory and university work, he traveled widely and turned those experiences into books, including accounts of East Asia and Macedonia. He died on August 24, 1924, in Obernigk near Breslau, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both close scientific discipline and genuine curiosity about the natural world.