Luís Wittnich Carrisso

Luís Wittnich Carrisso
Memorial to Luís Carrisso in the Jardim Botânico da Universidade de Coimbra
Born	14 February 1886 São Julião, Figueira da Foz
Died	6 June 1937(1937-06-06) (aged 51) Moçâmedes Desert, Angola
Occupation(s)	Botanist, professor

Luís Wittnich Carrisso (14 February 1886 – 14 June 1937) was a Portuguese botanist, professor at the University of Coimbra.

Carrisso was born in Figueira da Foz.[1] He attended the Faculty of Philosophy of University of Coimbra (1904-1910). After graduating he became a student of botanist Julio Augusto Henriques.[1] Carrisso took interest in evolution and heredity and presented his PhD thesis Hereditariedade in 1911. He published scientific work on ecology and plant systematics.[1]

In 1918, he became Professor of Botany at University of Coimbra's Botanical Garden.[1] He was a supporter of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution but was skeptical of the role of natural selection. He embraced mutationism.[1]

He died on 6 June 1937 in the Namib desert (Moçâmedes), in Angola, of cardiac syncope, during his third botanical expedition to that country. A monument was erected at the site in his memory.[2]

Eponymy

• Carrissoa

References

1. Sara Graca da Silva; Fatima Vieira; Jorge Bastos da Silva. (Dis)Entangling Darwin: Cross-disciplinary Reflections on the Man and His Legacy. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 105-110. ISBN 978-1443837323
2. Guimarães, Jorge. "Carrisso, Luís Wittnich, 1886-1937". Biblioteca Digital de Botânica. Retrieved 2 March 2021.

External links

• Jorge Guimarães: Carrisso, Luís Wittnich, 1886-1937
• JSTOR: Carrisso, Luis Wettnich (1886-1937)
• Fátima Sales (2007): Luís Carrisso