science

Käthe Rosenthal

Käthe Rosenthal is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Käthe Rosenthal rather than just read about it. In short: Käthe Rosenthal (1893–1942) was a German botanist. Her major work was on the genus Daphniphyllum.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Käthe Rosenthal (1893–1942) was a German botanist. Her major work was on the genus Daphniphyllum. She worked at the Silesian Friedrich-Wilhelms-University in Breslau and at the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. At the beginning of September 1942, the Jewish scientist was deported from her place of residence in Berlin to the Riga Ghetto, where she was murdered a few days later.

Early life Käthe Emmy Rosenthal was born on 25 June 1893, in the then German city of Breslau (now Wrocław in Poland). Her parents were Amalie, née Kaufmann (1858-1911) and Rabbi Ferdinand Rosenthal (1839-1921; Amalie Kaufman was his second wife). Her mother was born in what is now Kojetín in the Czech Republic. Her father was born in what is now Kaposvár in Hungary. He had studied at Leipzig and Berlin universities, and attained a Doctor of Philosophy. He was a rabbi in then Beuthen, now Bytom in Silesia, Poland from 1867 and in Breslau from 1887. He published five works (e.g. see Sefer haYashar (Rabbeinu Tam)). Käthe Rosenthal grew up in the city of Breslau with four half- and full-brothers: Benjamin Willy (born 1880); Immanuel Felix (born 1885); Bruno Isachar (born 1886); and Walter David (born 1905). She attended Hönigersche Privatschule (Höniger private school), and passed her matriculation examination (Reifeprüfung) at the Realgymnasialen Studienanstalt (secondary school) of the city's Viktoriaschule.

From Easter in 1912, Rosenthal studied natural sciences and philosophy at the Schlesischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität (Silesian Friedrich-Wilhelms-University) in Breslau. Her teachers included Alexander von Lingelsheim, Ferdinand Albin Pax and Georg Kükenthal. She retained her birth name through her life; she did not marry.

Career From 1 October 1915, Rosenthal worked as an assistant at the Botanical Garden and Museum of Schlesischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität. In 1916 she completed her Ph.D. within the Philosophy faculty with a thesis entitled Monographie der Gattung Daphniphyllum ("Monograph of the genus Daphniphyllum"). Her advisers were Prof. Dr. Hans Winkler, Dozenten (Lecturer) Dr. Alexander von Lingelsheim, and Käthe Hoffmann.

Her thesis focused on the plant genus Daphniphyllum, the only genus within the Daphniphyllaceae family. She described eight new species of Daphniphyllum that were native to South and Southeast Asia. Both alone and together with her former teacher Ferdinand A. Pax, she contributed numerous scientific articles in Adolf Engler's multi-volume publication Das Planzenreich, which originally had aimed to cover all plant species on earth. Some time after this she worked for the Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Prussian Academy of Sciences) in Berlin.

Last years and murder

After the name change ordinance of the National Socialist regime of Germany, from 1 January 1939, she was forced to use the Jewish-signifying first name Sara as well as her actual name. In 1942 she was living in 67 Seesener Strasse, Halensee locality, southeast Berlin. Together with several hundred other Berlin Jews she was deported to the Riga Ghetto, in then German-controlled Lettland, now the nation of Latvia, on the 5 September 1942. There immediately after their arrival on 8 September, as part of the systematic Nazi extermination of Jews, she and her fellows were murdered. She was 49 years of age.

Relationship to Käthe Hoffmann Käthe Hoffmann was a botanist who worked at the university in Breslau. Over the years there has been confusion over the identity of these two Breslau women botanists. Hoffmann was older than Rosenthal, advised her, and co-published with her.

Taxa described The standard author abbreviation K.Rosenth. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

Daphniphyllum bengalense K.Rosenth., now a synonym for Daphniphyllum chartaceum K.Rosenth. Daphniphyllum celebense K.Rosenth. Daphniphyllum chartaceum K.Rosenth. Daphniphyllum formosanum K.Rosenth., now a synonym for Daphniphyllum pentandrum Hayata Daphniphyllum gracile K.Rosenth., non D. gracile Gage. (1919), now a synonym of Daphniphyllum timorianum (T.C.Huang) T.C.Huang Daphniphyllum latifolium K.Rosenth., now a synonym of Daphniphyllum majus Müll.Arg. var. majus Daphniphyllum longeracemosum K.Rosenth. Daphniphyllum neilgherrense (Wight) K.Rosenth. Daphniphyllum oldhamii K.Rosenth., now a synonym of Daphniphyllum pentandrum Hayata Daphniphyllum paxianum K.Rosenth.

Publications Monographie der Gattung Daphniphyllum, 1916, Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau, Ph.D. Dissertation, R. Nischkowsky, Breslau Das Pflanzenreich : regni vegetabilis conspectus / Heft 68, Euphorbiaceae - Additamentum VI: Euphorbiaceae acalypheae plukenetiinae ... Daphniphyllaceae, F. Pax, Käthe Hoffmann and Käthe Rosenthal, 1919, Englemann, Leipzig

External links Literature by and about Käthe Rosenthal in the German National Library catalogue Entry for Käthe Rosenthal at International Plant Names Index (IPNI) Rosenthal, Käthe Emmy in the Gedenkbuch

References

Illustrations

Käthe Rosenthal: Käthe Rosenthal's book on Daphniphyllaceae in Adolf Engler's publication Das Pflanzenreich (1919) — Käthe Rosenthal's book on Daphniphyllaceae in Adolf Engler's publication Das Pflanzenreich (1919)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Käthe Rosenthal

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Käthe Rosenthal claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Käthe Rosenthal before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Käthe Rosenthal ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Käthe Rosenthal

In research: Käthe Rosenthal appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Käthe Rosenthal in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Käthe Rosenthal is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1893 births, 1942 deaths, 20th-century German botanists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Käthe Rosenthal outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Käthe Rosenthal in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Käthe Rosenthal in simple terms?

Käthe Rosenthal (1893–1942) was a German botanist. Her major work was on the genus Daphniphyllum.

Why does Käthe Rosenthal matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Käthe Rosenthal?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Käthe Rosenthal.