Editing August Weismann (section)

=== Youth and studies ===
Weismann was born a son of high school teacher Johann (Jean) Konrad Weismann (1804–1880), a graduate of ancient languages and theology, and his wife Elise (1803–1850), née Lübbren, the daughter of the county councillor and mayor of [[Stade]], on 17 January 1834 in [[Frankfurt am Main]]. He had a typical 19th century bourgeois education, receiving music lessons from the age of four, and drafting and painting lessons from [[Jakob Becker]] (1810–1872) at the Frankfurter [[Städel|Städelsche Institut]] from the age of 14. His piano teacher was a devoted butterfly collector and introduced him to the collecting of [[imago]]s and caterpillars. But studying natural sciences was out of the question due to the cost involved and limited job prospects. A friend of the family, chemist [[Friedrich Wöhler]] (1800–1882), recommended studying medicine. A foundation from the inheritance of Weismann's mother allowed him to take up studies in [[Göttingen]]. Following his graduation in 1856, he wrote his dissertation on the synthesis of [[hippuric acid]] in the human body.