Friedrich August Ferdinand Christian Went, 1863 - 1935

Friedrich August Ferdinand Christian Went was born at Amsterdam on 18 June, 1863. His father, who was originally trained for the ministry , followed the profession of broker. Before Went had passed through the High School he lost his father, and all the cares of a large family fell upon his mother, who was a German by birth . From the High School he proceeded to the University at Amsterdam in 1880. Here he worked under Hugo de Vries and came in to contact with other distinguished men such as van’t Hoff and van der Waals. At this time his master was engaged in his well-known investigations in to osmosis, turgor, and plasmolysis. In 1886 Went obtained his doctorate with a thesis entitled “De jongste toestand der vacuolen” .