Editing Ferdinand Cohn (section)

==Biography==
Ferdinand Julius Cohn was born in the Jewish quarter of [[Wrocław|Breslau]] in the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] [[Province of Silesia]] (modern-day Wrocław, [[Poland]]).{{r|chung}}{{r|drews}} His father, Issak Cohn, was a successful merchant and manufacturer who for some time held the post of Austro-Hungarian consul.{{r|JE}} He was the elder brother of humorist and playwright [[Oskar Justinus|Oskar Justinus Cohn]] and of historian and jurist {{ill|Max Conrat|de}}.{{r|JE}}

He was considered a [[child prodigy]], and could read at the age of two. He also suffered hearing impairment from a young age. He entered the {{ill|Maria-Magdalenen-Gymnasium|de}} in 1835 at the age or 6 or 7, and the [[University of Breslau]] in 1842 or 1844.{{r|ewb}}{{r|drews}} There he studied botany under [[Heinrich Göppert]] and [[Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck|Christian Nees von Esenbeck]]. 

Cohn was refused admission to the University of Breslau's doctoral program because of his Jewish background.{{r|drews}} He thus continued his studies at the [[University of Berlin]], where he obtained a Ph.D. in 1847 with a dissertation on the [[Plant physiology|physiology]] of seeds. In it he advocated for the establishment of botanical gardens dedicated to the study of plant physiology, a vision that he later played a significant role in realizing. 

He returned to Breslau in 1848 and, after a delay due to his Jewish heritage, was appointed as a [[Privatdozent|privat-docent]] in 1850.{{r|JE}} He remained at that university for the rest of his career, obtaining the titled of professor in 1857 and, following the death of his mentor Göppert, was promoted to a full professorship in 1872.