Jakob Johann von Uexküll

Jakob von Uexküll
Jakob Johann von Uexküll in 1903
Born
Jakob Johann Freiherr von Uexküll

8 September [O.S. 27 August] 1864
Died25 July 1944(1944-07-25) (aged 79)
Alma materImperial University of Dorpat
Known forThe UmgebungUmwelt distinction
Lebensphilosophie
Biosemiotics
Scientific career
FieldsBiology
Semiotics
InstitutionsUniversity of Hamburg

Jakob Johann Freiherr von Uexküll (/ˈʊkskʊl/; German: [ˈʏkskʏl]; 8 September [O.S. 27 August] 1864 – 25 July 1944) was a Baltic German biologist who worked in the fields of muscular physiology and animal behaviour studies and was an influence on the cybernetics of life. However, his most notable contribution is the notion of Umwelt, used by semiotician Thomas Sebeok and philosopher Martin Heidegger. His works established biosemiotics as a field of research.