Abstract
THE recipient of this year's Linnean Medal awarded by the Linnean Society of London is Prof. Robert Chodat of Geneva. Unfortunately, he was unable to be present at the anniversary meeting held on May 24 and the medal was received on his behalf by the Swiss Minister. In the present state of specialisation, it is difficult to cover much of the field of botany and Prof. Chodat is one of the very few who can be considered a master in most branches. His work on the systematics of Polygalaceae and their geographical distribution, and his ecological accounts of the vegetation of Paraguay explored by him in 1914 and of Portugal, Spain and Majorca which he visited with his students, are of great merit. In his laboratory at Geneva he elaborated the methods of obtaining pure cultures of Algae now in general use, and his papers on Algae, culminating in his monograph on polymorphism, have made him a recognised authority on the subject. More recently he has turned his attention to Fungi, particularly the organisms of fermentation, where his knowledge of chemistry and physiology has enabled him to make important advances. It is not so much the minutiae of a subject as the broad principles that have attracted him, as is seen in his critical study of the palaeozoic Pteropsida and in his address on the conception of species in modern botany. In genetics his contributions, though not numerous, have been fundamental. It is natural that he should be a successful teacher and his admirable “Principes de Botanique” reveal his wide and philosophic outlook. Geneva has always been famous for its botanists and Robert Chodat is a worthy successor to de Saussure and the de Candolles.
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Prof. Robert Chodat. Nature 131, 793 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/131793a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/131793a0