Thomae, Karl

Director of an agricultural school

Born: 09.01.1808 in Dienethal (Nassau/Lahn)

died: 04.06.1885 in Wiesbaden

Thomae trained as a primary school teacher in Idstein and took up his first teaching post in Niedermeilingen in 1827. He soon moved to a private teaching and educational establishment in Frankfurt am Main.

In addition to his work, he had enough time to educate himself in the natural sciences. He attended lectures and used the collections and library of the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung. Thomae studied mathematics and natural history in Bonn from 1832-35. He received his doctorate in Heidelberg in 1835 with a thesis on the volcanic Roderberg near Bonn.

Thomae was appointed to the agricultural school Hof Geisberg, which had meanwhile been moved from Idstein to Wiesbaden. There he taught natural history, physics, chemistry and agricultural technology. He was appointed professor in 1838. From 1845-49 he worked for the Nassau government. In 1849 he returned to the Geisberg as director.

In his retirement, Thomae was mainly concerned with fruit growing (pomology). He was regarded as one of the most profound experts on fruit varieties in Nassau. In Wiesbaden, Thomaestraße north of the Nero Valley commemorates him.