Abraham Trembley (1710-1784) tutor of Count Bentinck's two sons at Sorgvliet near the Hague, noticed a hydra attached to an aquatic plant, and found that it was an animal capable of independent motion. Further observation and experiment proved that the hydra could be multiplied by dividing it in pieces. A thorough researcher, Trembley studied three species of hydra and published his findings in 1744. The illustrations shown are from a 1791 German translation, as well as the original 1744 edition.
Abraham Trembley.
Mémoires pour servir à l¹histoire d¹un genre de polypes d¹eau
douce ..
: Jean & Herman Verbeek, 1744. (double page spread: 10 1/4 x17 inches) Special Collections Milton S. Eisenhower Library
Abraham Trembley.
Abhandlungen zur Geschichte einer Polypenart des süssen
Wassers.
Quedlinburg: Friedrich Joseph Ernst, 1791. (double page spread: 8x11 inches) Special Collections Milton S. Eisenhower
Library
|
 Hydra hanging from the surface of water in a jar, supporting themselves with their tentacles against the glass. Abhandlungen zur Geschichte einer Polypenart des süssen Wassers. |
|||
 Abraham Trembley and his pupils in their schoolroom with specimens of hydra in jars of water. Mémoire IV. |
 Trembley and his pupils looking for hydra in the pond at Sorgvliet. Mémoire I. |
|||
|
Additional Information on hydra: |
||||
|
||||
|
||||
Last updated: 5/2/00 by knox@jhu.edu |
||||