Schimper, Wilhelm Philipp (1808–1880)

German botanist who was the director of the Natural History Museum in Strasbourg and professor of natural history and geology at Strasbourg University. He studied the anatomy of moss and travelled throughout Europe to collect botanical specimens.

Schimper was born in Dossenheim in Alsace, France, and attended Strasbourg University 1826–33, studying philosophy, philology, mathematics, and theology. In 1834, he took part in a botanical expedition to the Alps and returned to Strasbourg 1835 to become an assistant in the Natural History Museum. In 1836, he and Philipp Bruch published Bryologica Europea. He graduated with a scientific degree 1845 and obtained a doctorate 1848 with a thesis on the anatomy of moss. He remained in Strasbourg when it was conquered by the Germans in the Franco-Prussian war.