About Hans Molisch
Lived 1856 – 1937 (aged 81). Hans Molisch was an Austrian botanist, university teacher and mycologist.
Hans Molisch (6 December 1856, Brünn, Habsburg Moravia – 8 December 1937, Wien, Austria) was a Czech-Austrian botanist.
Molisch's test is named after him, it is a sensitive chemical test for the presence of carbohydrates.
He is attributed as being the creator of the term 'Topophysis.'
He taught as a professor at the German University of Prague (1894–), Vienna University (1909–1928), Tohoku Imperial University (now Tohoku University, Japan; 1922–1925), and the Bose Institute in Kolkata India; 1928–.
From 1931 to 1937 he acted as the vice-president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Hans Molisch expanded on Julius von Sachs's work by developing "starch pictures" in intact leaves by using actual photographic negatives as masks over the illuminated leaves.
In his function as rector of the University of Vienna in 1926/27, Molisch was responsible for a wave of radicalization among the antisemitic and German-national students. The escalating violence against politically dissenters in general and Jewish students in particular was promoted by Molisch and demonstrated by appropriate leniency in punishing the perpetrators. At the university he was considered an open sponsor of the "swastika people".
Literary works Die Pflanzen in ihren Beziehungen zum Eisen, 1892 Leuchtende Pflanzen, 1904 Die Purpurbakterien, 1907 Die Eisenbakterien, 1910 Mikrochemie der Pflanzen, 1913 Pflanzenphysiologie, 1920 Pflanzenphysiologie in Japan, 1926 Im Lande der aufgehenden Sonne, 1927
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Important facts
People in Hans Molisch's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Hans Molisch's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Hans Molisch?
Austrian botanist (1856-1937)
When was Hans Molisch born?
Hans Molisch was born on 6 December 1856 in Brno.
When did Hans Molisch die?
Hans Molisch died on 8 December 1937 in Vienna.
What was Hans Molisch's occupation?
Hans Molisch was a botanist, university teacher and mycologist.
What nationality was Hans Molisch?
Hans Molisch was Austrian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Hans Molisch. https://biography.guide/hans-molisch/
MLA: "Hans Molisch." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/hans-molisch/.
Chicago: "Hans Molisch." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/hans-molisch/.
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