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In April 1860, the zoologist Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919) came back to Berlin from an extended trip to Italy. Only a few days after his arrival, he was informed by his colleagues that during his stay abroad a “strange book of a crazy Englishman” had been published in which all concepts concerning the origin of species are turned upside down. At weekly meetings of the Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin (GNF)—an association of naturalists that still exists today—Darwin’s monograph was hotly debated. The majority of Berlin’s famous university professors agreed that Darwin’s theory of descent with modification (summarized in 1860 under the term “Darwinism”) is an “unfounded speculation;” moreover, they argued that “in a few years from now nobody will discuss this ‘British nonsense’ any more.” The 26-year-old Haeckel was unimpressed by this harsh verdict: after he had read Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species (1859) in an excited mood, he was entirely convinced by this novel theory and became a life-long defender, supplementer, and popularizer of Darwinism (H. Schmidt, Ernst Haeckel. Leben und Werke, Berlin 1926). In February 1904, “Germany’s Darwin of the nineteenth century,” as Haeckel was called, celebrated his 70th birthday. Five months later, Ernst Mayr was born in Kempten (Bavaria, Germany). Both Ernsts were enthusiastic naturalists. They first studied medicine at the University of Berlin, where they joined the GNF. Then they made the switch to systematic zoology and became world leaders in their respective fields: Haeckel as an invertebrate zoologist (Radiolarians, Sponges etc.), Mayr as an ornithologist. They discovered/described many new animal species and published (or edited) important zoological monographs (E. Haeckel: Die Radiolarien, Berlin 1862, 1877; E. Mayr et al.: Check-list of the Birds of the World, 1960–1986). The older Ernst became the most prominent biology professor of Jena, where his private museum—the Ernst HaeckelHaus—is now part of the University. Mayr emigrated in 1931 to the United States, where he held the position of Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University from 1953 until his death (2005). Harvard’s Ernst Mayr Library is named in his honor. Haeckel published his most important book at the age of 32 (Generelle Morphologie der Organismen, Berlin 1866); Mayr was 38 years old when his masterpiece Systematics and the Origin of Species (New York, 1942) appeared in print. Both monographs were written under the influence of Darwin’s work of 1859 and led to a considerable refinement and extension of classical Darwinism. In Haeckel’s book of 1866 two new areas of research, phylogenetics and evolutionary embryology, were founded; Mayr’s monograph of 1942 became one of the cornerstones of the Synthetic theory of Biological Evolution. Both Haeckel and Mayr started their careers as specialists, but later evolved, under the influence of “Darwin 1859,” into generalists of biology. They published important books on evolution as well as various philosophical aspects of the biological sciences (Fig. 1). However, significant differences in their later writings are apparent. Haeckel’s biophilosophy (Die Welträtsel, Berlin 1899; Die Lebenswunder, Stuttgart 1904; Die Kristallseelen, Jena 1917) developed under the label “Monism” into a pseudo-religious system of thought, whereas Mayr’s corresponding works—exemplified in his splendid monographs The Growth of Biological Thought, Toward a New Evo Edu Outreach (2009) 2:564–566 DOI 10.1007/s12052-008-0101-4

In the Wake of Charles Darwin and Beyond: A Tribute to Ernst Mayr