Initially, Unger studied law at the
University of Graz. In 1820 he moved to
Vienna to study medicine, in 1822 he enrolled at the
Charles University in Prague. In 1823 Unger returned to Vienna and completed his medical studies in 1827. From 1827 Unger practiced as a doctor in
Stockerau near Vienna, then from 1830 as a court physician in
Kitzbühel,
Tyrol. In 1836 he was named professor of botany at the University of Graz and also taught at the Joanneum (which became the
Universalmuseum Joanneum and the
Graz University of Technology); in 1850 professor of plant physiology in Vienna. In 1852 he travelled to Northern Europe and to the
Orient. Unger retired in 1866 and lived on his farm near Graz. Unger was one of the major contributors to the field of
paleontology, later turning to
plant physiology and
phytotomy. He hypothesized that (then unknown) combinations of simple elements inside a
plant cell determine plant heredity and greatly influenced the experiments of his student
Gregor Johann Mendel. Unger was a pioneer
in documenting the relationships between soil and plants (1836). Unger is notable for proposing a theory of evolution before
Charles Darwin. Unger accepted the
transmutation of species. During his time his ideas were widely criticized by those who held religious views. In his book
Attempt of a History of the Plant World (1852) he devoted a chapter to the evolution of plants. == Works ==