Goeze was the son of Johann Heinrich and Catherine Margarete (née Kirchhoff). He studied
theology and philosophy at the
University of Halle. He married Leopoldine Maria Keller in 1770, with whom he had four children. In 1751, he became a pastor in Aschersleben, in
Quedlinburg, and later of in Quedlinburg in 1762, finally becoming first deacon of the seminary of Quedlinburg in 1787. He died in Quedlinburg. Around 1772, Goeze’s intellectual interests turned from the history of the
Reformation to
zoology. While visiting the optician Samuel Gottlieb Hoffmann in Leipzig, Goeze saw a microscope for the first time. Immediately fascinated, he purchased it—selling his personal library to do so. He then began to explore the microscopic world, focusing on aquatic
invertebrates, particularly
insects and
worms. In 1784, Goeze perceived the similarities between the heads of tapeworms found in the human intestinal tract and the invaginated heads of
Cysticercus cellulosae in pigs. In 1773, he was the first to describe
tardigrades, naming them
Kleiner Wasserbär, meaning 'little water-bear'. He described it under the title "Von einigen merkwürdigen Wasserinsekten" ("On Some Remarkable Water Insects") in an appendix to a translation of
Charles Bonnet’s
Traité d’Insectologie that he published. He illustrated it and it has been considered to represent the genus
Hypsibius. In 1776, he published a translation of Philippe Fermin's work that included notes on the biology of the
Surinam toad. In 1778, he identified the so-called
Quedlinburg "unicorn” skeleton as being that of a
rhinoceros and considered whether the region’s climate might have changed over time. He also took a special interest in
helminths and collected tapeworm specimens. This collection was purchased for 1000 thaler by Emperor Joseph II for the
University of Pavia. ==Works==