Alexander Onufrievich Kowalevsky (1840–1901)

Abstract

Alexander O. Kowalevsky (1840–1901), a founder of cellular and comparative evolutionary embryology, was one of the most prominent biologists of the nineteenth century. He worked at the intersection of zoology, embryology, and evolution. His studies on the lancelet, tunicates, insects, and germ layer homologies pioneered comparative embryology and confirmed the evolutionary continuity between invertebrates and vertebrates. In this chapter I present a short description of the life of A.O. Kowalevsky and his achievements and, with their help, illustrate the development of comparative evolutionary embryology in the last third of the nineteenth century. The chapter also presents the full bibliography of Kowalevsky.