German naturalist and philosopher was born on February 18, 1834 in Potsdam, Prussia (present-day Germany). A supporter and successor of Darwin's ideas. He introduced the term "ecology"into science. In the book "General morphology of organisms" published in 1866, he revealed this concept as a science about the interaction of living organisms between themselves and with the environment. Foresaw the existence of an intermediate form between a monkey and a man — the discovery of the Pithecanthropus confirmed his prediction.He proved that for each individual species in the economy of nature there is only a certain number of places — ecological niches. And in the same habitat may exist, the more animal-individuals, the more diverse their nature. He formulated the biogenetic law according to which the main stages of the organism evolution are actually reproduced in the individual development of the organism. He built the first genealogical tree of the animal Kingdom.