Fritz Müller

Johann Friedrich Theodor Müller (German pronunciation: [ˈjoːhan ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈteːodoːɐ̯ ˈmʏlɐ]; 31 March 1822 – 21 May 1897), better known as Fritz Müller (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈfɾits ˈmileʁ]), and also as Müller-Desterro, was a German biologist who emigrated to southern Brazil, where he lived in and near the city of Blumenau, Santa Catarina. There he studied the natural history of the Atlantic forest and was an early advocate of Darwinism. Müllerian mimicry is named after him.

Life

Müller was born in the village of Windischholzhausen, near Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany, the son of a minister. Müller had what would be seen today as a normal scientific education at the universities of Berlin (earning a BSc in Botany) and Greifswald, culminating in a PhD in Biology. He subsequently decided to study medicine. As a medical student, he began to question religion and in 1846 became an atheist, joining the Free Congregations and supporting free love. Despite completing the course, he did not graduate because he refused to swear the graduation oath, which contained the phrase "so help me God and his sacred Gospel".

Müller was disappointed by the failure of the Prussian Revolution in 1848, fearing implications for his life and career. As a result, he emigrated to Brazil in 1852, with his brother August and their wives, to join Hermann Blumenau's new colony in the State of Santa Catarina. In Brazil, Müller became a farmer, doctor, teacher and biologist. During this time, he studied the natural history of the sub-tropical Atlantic forest, around the Itajaí River valley.