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Simon Schwendener (1829–1919) and the Dual Hypothesis of Lichens

On September 10, 1867, the Swiss Natural History Society held its annual general meeting in the small city of Rheinfelden. The botanical session was presided over by the taxonomist and palaeobotanist Oswald Heer, Professor of Botany at the University of Ziurich. The first speaker was Simon Schwendener (Fig. 1), newly elected Professor of Botany at the University of Basel. Schwendener, a former student of Heer, had an astonishing career. Born on February 10, 1829 in Buchs at the Austrian border in northeasternmost Switzerland as the only son of a farmer, he was expected to take over the family farm. However, Simon proved to be an excellent student who became increasingly attracted to science rather than to farming. The financial situation of the family did not allow him to be sent to the university, as he desired. From age 18 onwards, Schwendener made a living as a school teacher, first at an elementary school near his home village and later in a private high school. In between, he went to the French speaking part of Switzerland and attended science classes at the Univer-