Carl Sprengel
Karl or Philipp Carl Sprengel (March 29, 1787 – April 19, 1859) was a German botanist from Schillerslage (now part of Burgdorf, Hanover). Sprengel worked under Albrecht Thaer (1752–1828) in Celle. He then worked from 1804 to 1808 with Heinrich Einhof (1778–1808) in Möglin on agricultural studies.
Also recorded as dr. Carl Sprengel
Carl Sprengel

Archiv der Gesellschaft für Pflanzenbauwissenschaften · Public domain
- Born
- 1787. · Schillerslage.
- Died
- 1859. · Resko.
- Nationality
- Kingdom of Prussia.
- Occupation
- chemist, botanist, university teacher, writer, farmer and agronomist.
- Education
- University of Göttingen.
- Languages
- German.
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Karl or Philipp Carl Sprengel (March 29, 1787 – April 19, 1859) was a German botanist from Schillerslage (now part of Burgdorf, Hanover). Sprengel worked under Albrecht Thaer (1752–1828) in Celle. He then worked from 1804 to 1808 with Heinrich Einhof (1778–1808) in Möglin on agricultural studies.
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wikidata · Q86579 · wikipedia · Carl Sprengel
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He travelled the world between 1810 and 1820, exploring agricultural ideas in Asia, Americas and Mesopotamia. Between 1821 and 1828, he studied natural sciences in Göttingen, where he eventually became professor. In the early 1830s, he moved to Regenwalde (Resko), where he accepted position of the Chairman of the Pomorskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne (Pomeranian Economic Society), which he held for the rest of his life. Having his financial needs satisfied, finally he could fulfil his dream and establish Regenwalde Akademie der Landwirtschaft (Academy of Agriculture in Resko), where he taught, studied and lived until his death in 1859. Influenced by (one of the students at Regenwalde Akademie der Landwirtschaft) Felicjan Sypniewski theories, Sprengel was the first to formulate the "theory of minimum" in agricultural chemistry, meaning that plant growth is limited by the essential nutrient at the lowest concentration. This rule, often incorrectly attributed to Justus von Liebig as Liebig's law of the minimum, was instead only popularised later as a scientific concept by Liebig.
1839: Die Lehre vom Dünger oder Beschreibung aller bei der Landwirthschaft gebräuchlicher vegetablilischer, animalischer und mineralischer Düngermaterialien, nebst Erklärung ihrer Wirkungsart, Leipzig 1844: Die Bodenkunde oder die Lehre von Boden, nebst einer volständigen Anleitung zur chemischen Analyse der Ackererden via Internet Archive

Grab des Agrarwissenschaftlers Carl Sprengel (1787−1859) in Regenwalde (heute Resko)
Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Römer · Digitale Reproduktion einer Photographie
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1787
Carl Sprengel was born on 29 March 1787.
1859
Carl Sprengel died on 19 April 1859.
Places
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Schillerslage.
Birth place
Resko.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ratzeburg, Julius Theodor Christian. Die Waldverderber und ihre Feinde : ein handbuch für Forstmänner, Landwirthe, Gärtner und alle mit Waldbäumen Beschäftigte. Nicolaische Verlags-Buchhandlung. 1876. 10.5962/bhl.title.34151.
- 2.Sara Kubień. Resko: Stories of the old. The Genius of Agriculture. Kurier Szczeciński (online edition). l. 2012-10-26.
- 3.R. R. van der Ploeg, W. Böhm, M. B. Kirkham (1999) "On the origin of the theory of mineral nutrition of plants and the law of minimum", Soil Science Society of America Journal 63: 1055–1062
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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- Carl SigmanAuthor
- Carl SnoilskyAuthor
- Carl SolomonAuthor
- Carl SpitzwegAuthor
- Carl StålAuthor
- Carl SternheimAuthor
- Carl TigheAuthor
- Carl Van DorenAuthor
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