Fritz Mü ller was among the earliest German scientists to support Charles Darwin's (1809-1882) theory of evolution. Born the son of a Protestant minister in Windischholzhausen, near Erfurt, Germany, Müller was always predisposed toward science. His maternal grandfather was the prominent apothecary and chemist, Johann Bartholomäus Trommsdorff (1770-1837). The whole family shared a lively interest in natural history.

After attending the Erfurt Gymnasium from 1835 to 1840, where he became fluent in six languages, Müller studied pharmacy in Naumburg. In 1841 he switched to zoology, first at the University of Berlin, then at the University of Greifswald, then again at Berlin, where he received his Ph.D. in 1844 with a dissertation on leeches directed by the famous physiologist and comparative anatomist, Johannes Peter Müller (1801-1858), who was not related to him. He taught unsuccessfully at the Erfurt Gymnasium in 1845, then decided to...