The Beginning of Zoophysiology (1899–1904)

Abstract

The future now looked bright. August had a position in Bohr’s laboratory and would soon have a regular salary. In November 1899 he received a document from Viggo advising him that his education since he was eighteen years old had cost his parents DKr 3,309.25. This sum was to be considered an advance on his inheritance. The financial agreement that August had with his parents was very complete and included the cost of having his laundry done in Grenaa by his mother. But now even that would be charged directly. Back home in Grenaa finances were tight as Viggo was fighting to keep his business afloat. August tried to be as helpful to his father as he could. When a law to tax beer sales was proposed, August spent hours listening to the parliamentary debates and reporting them in detail to his father. To help his father brew beer, he designed and constructed an alarm-thermometer to wake Viggo when the temperature of the mash fell below a certain level.

The lecture shall be a kind of program declaration, designed to show what I understand by Zoophysiology [comparative physiology] and that this is an independent and—so far—very neglected science, which can be pursued to great advantage.