Martinus Willem Beijerinck: His Life and his Work

209 Pages·1940·6.332 MB·English

by  G. van Iterson Jr., L. E. den Dooren de Jong, A. J. Kluyver (auth.)

MARTINUS WILLEM BEIJERINCK
HIS LIFE AND HIS WORK
PI. I
From the bronze plaque by Professor A. W. M. Ode.
MA TI US WILLE 1
BEl] RI CK
HIS LIFE AND HIS WORK
BY
G. VAN ITERSON JR., L. E. DEN DOOREN DE JONG
AND
A. J. KLUYVER
WITH 13 PLATES OF WHICH TWO COLOURED
Springer-Science+Business Media, B.V.
1940
ISBN 978-94-017-5741-6 ISBN 978-94-017-6107-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-6107-9
Preface
I
n 1920 a committee was formed by numerous friends and admirers of
Mar tin u s Will em Be ij e r inc k with the aim of rendering ho
mage to this great biologist at the occasion of his 70th anniversary. The
initiative taken by the first undersigned, who acted as president to this com
mittee, led ultimately to the publication of the "Verzamelde Geschriften"
("Collected Papers") of B e ij e r inc k in five stately volumes.
After Be ij e r inc k's death on January 1st, 1931, it seemed expedient to
collect in a final volume those publications of Be ij e r inc k which had
appeared after his retirement from the chair at Delft.
On considering the publication of this volume the undersigned arrived at
the conclusion that it was most desirable to add to it a detailed biography
of the remarkable author of all these memoirs, as well as a comprehensive review
of his scientific achievements.
It was then decided that each of the three undersigned should take care
of a part of this task. The review was therefore divided into three parts: one,
purely biographical, a second part dealing with Be ij e r inc k's studies in
the field of general botany, and a third part in which his microbiological work
would be considered.
The well-deserved fame which Be ij e r inc k has attained in various
branches of biology seems to justify the idea of publishing this biographical and
laudatory essay also separately. In doing so it has become possible to make it
'accessible to a wider circle of readers.
Before finishing this preface the authors wish to express their profound
gratitude to all those who have assisted them in their task.
In the first place the precious collaboration of the late Miss H. W. B e ij
e r inc k, sister of the scientist, should be most gratefully acknowledged. The
liberal way in which she has allowed access to data of biographical interest has
been of the greatest value for the successful completion of the purely bio
graphical part. Already during her lifetime, Miss Be ij e r inc k put her diary
at the disposal of the second undersigned, a token of confidence which has been
highly appreciated. Her unfailing interest in the publication as a whole has
greatly stimulated the work. It is a matter of sincere regret to the authors that
she did not live to see the book completed .. On December 26th, 1937 this
energetic and sympathetic woman, whose life was so tightly interwoven with
that of her famous brother, quietly passed away at the age of ninety.
The authors also wish to thank Mr. W. M. Be ij e r inc k, retired Major
of the Artillery, for information concerning the genealogy of the B e ij e r inc k
family.
VIII PREFACE
In the successive phases of the development of the book various British
colleagues have been most kind in giving us their advice regarding the linguistic
side of the publication. In this respect the authors feel especially, and profound
ly, indebted to Dr. Hug h N i col, bacteriologist of Rothamsted Exper
imental Station, for the untiring and devoted way in which he has accomplished
the most unselfish task of correcting the manuscripts from the point of view of
the language. In doing so, he has not only eliminated numerous short
comings in English style and composition, but at several places his critical
suggestions - which were always to the point - have greatly influenced the
redaction of the survey given.
Delft, October 1940. G. VAN lTERSON JR.
L. E. DEN DOOREN DE J ONG
A. J. KLUYVER
Contents
PART I. BEIJERINCK, THE MAN
by
L. E. den Dooren de Jong
Page
Chapter I. Descent .. 3
II. Childhood . 6
III. Adolescence 11
IV. The secondary school teacher. 13
"
V. The industrial microbiologist 19
VI. The academic teacher 23
"
VII. Beijerinck at work. 35
VIII. The retired scholar . 41
"
PART II. BEIJERINCK, THE BOTANIST
by
G. van Iterson Jr.
Page
.
Chapter IX. Studies on galls. 51
X. Morphological investigations on adventitious formations
"
and regeneration phenomena 61
XI. Studies on phyllotaxis 68
XII. Minor morphological researches 71
"
XIII. Cross-breeding experiments 74
"
XIV. Investigations on gummosis . 79
XV. Studies on starch, and problems of colloid chemistry. 83
"
XVI. Pure cultures of algae . 86
"
XVII. Considerations on heredity 90
XVIII. Bacterial root nodules 94
"
x
CONTENTS
PART III. BEI]ERINCK, THE MICROBIOLOGIST
by
A. ]. K 1 u Y v e r
Page
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Chapter XIX. The birth of the microbiologist. . . . . . . 100
" XX. Growth and maturation of the microbiologist 102
XXI. A more detailed appreciation of Beijerinck's main con
tributions to microbiology . . . . . . . . . . . .. 106
a. The isolation and investigation of Bacillus radicicola . 106
b. Free oxygen in its relation to the vital phenomena of
fermentation organisms . . . . . . . . . . . .. 109
c. Studies on luminous bacteria. . . . . . . . . .. 111
d. Pure cultures of algae, zoochlorellae, and gonidia of
lichens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
e. Studies on yeasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
f. Beijerinck's contribution to the virus concept. 118
g. Investigations on lactic acid bacteria . . . . 121
h. Investigations on the natural group of butyric acid
and butyl alcohol bacteria. . . . 125
't. The genus Aerobacter Beijerinck. . . 128
1. Investigations on Sarcina ventriculi . 130
k. Investigations on acetic acid bacteria 132
l. On sulphate reduction. . . . . . . 134
m. On denitrification. . . . . . . . . 136
n. On nitrogen fixation by free-living micro-organisms 138
o. Investigations on urea-decomposing bacteria. . . 144
p. Bacillus oligocarbophilus, an agent of the biological
purification of the air. . . . 146
q. Studies on microbial variation 148
The en voy. 153
APPENDICES
Page
A. The "Stellingen" accompanying Beijerinck's doctorate thesis. 157
B. List of Beijerinck's assistants in his academic period . . . . . 160
C. List of communications from the Laboratory for Microbiology at
Delft, published by Beijerinck's collaborators in the years 1895-1921. 161
D. List of Doctor's Theses, wholly or largely prepared under Beijerinck's
direction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., 165
E. Addressfs made on September 30th, 1905 at the presentation
of the Leeuwenhoek Medal of the "Koninklijke Akademie van
CONTENTS XI
Wetenschappen te Amsterdam" to Beijerinck. . . . . . . . . . 166
F. Article published by Professor S. Hoogewerff on the occasion of the
silver jubilee of Beijerinck's professorship. . . . . . . . . . .. 170
G. Address delivered by Professor G. van Herson Jr. on March 16th,
1921 on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of Beijerinck's
birthday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 173
H. Abstract from the lecture given by Beijerinck on the occasion of
his retirement from the chair at the "Technische Hoogeschool"
on May 28th, 1921. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 180
I. Speeches held by Professor G. van Herson Jr. and by Professor
A. J. Kluyver on June 14th, 1927, on the occasion of the golden
jubilee of Beijerinck's doctorate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 182
J. Interview with Beijerinck published by Mrs. W. van Hallie-van
Embden. . . . . . . . 190
K. List of obituary articles. 193