The idea Dohrn's idea was to establish an international scientific community provided with laboratory space, equipment, research material and a library. This was supported and funded by the
German government,
Thomas Henry Huxley,
Charles Darwin,
Francis Balfour and
Charles Lyell among others. Dohrn provided a substantial sum himself. Running costs were paid from income derived from
Dohrn's bench system, the sale of scientific journals and specimens and the income from the public aquarium. This system was an important innovation in management of research and it worked. When Dohrn died in 1909, more than 2,200 scientists from Europe and the United States had worked at Stazione Zoologica and more than fifty tables-per-year had been rented out. ''"Report of the Committee, consisting of Dr. Anton Dohrn, Professor Rolleston and Mr. P. L. Sclater, appointed for the purpose of promoting the Foundation of Zoological Stations in different parts of the World:—Reporter, Dr. Dohrn [Jena]."-"The Committee beg to report that since the last Meeting of the British Association at Liverpool steps have been taken by Dr. Dohrn to secure the moral assistance of some other scientific bodies, and that the Academy of Belgium has passed a vote acknowledging the great value of the proposed Observatories. Besides this, the Government at Berlin has given instruction to the German Embassy at Florence and to the General Consul at Naples to do everything to secure success to Dr. Dohrn's enterprise. Next October the building at Naples will be commenced under the personal superintendence of Dr. Dohrn, who will be accompanied by the assistant architect of the Berlin Aquarium. The contractors agree to finish the building in one year, so that in January 1873 the Aquarium in Naples may be expected to be in working order."''
British Association for the Advancement of Science Report on the 1871 Meeting in Edinburgh
The building The oldest building of the zoological station was opened in 1874. A second building connected to the western end of the first by bridges was added in 1886 and a third was built in 1906 for the new science of comparative physiology. In 1910, the 1874 building was occupied by the public aquarium and the library only, the department for collecting and preserving organisms as well as the individual laboratories for zoologists having been relocated in the 1886 addition.
People The first assistants were zoologists
Nicolaus Kleinenberg and
Hugo Eisig and one of the Preparators was Salvatore Lobianco (Lo Bianco) (1860–1910), who wrote
The Methods Employed at the Naples Zoological Station for the Preservation of Marine Animals. Others were Dr. Brandt (librarian); Dr. Lang; Dr. Giesbrecht; Petersen (engineer). By 1910, the permanent staff were Professor Dr.
Paul Mayer and Dr. Gross, morphology; Dr. Burian, comparative physiology; Dr. Henze, chemistry; Dr. Gast, the museum; Hermann Linden, secretary; Sig. Santorelli, Preparator. Zoologists and morphologists were the first guests of the new institute. Included were
Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz,
Francis Balfour,
Ray Lankester,
August Weismann,
Giovanni Battista Grassi,
Antonio della Valle,
Oskar Schmidt,
Ambrosius Hubrecht (Professor of Utrecht University, an embryologist). In 1897,
Ida Henrietta Hyde was invited to occupy a table at the institute. She went on to fund raise to help establish the American Women's Table at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn. This table was subsequently held by American women zoologists such as
Emily Ray Gregory.
Publications The three publications issued by the Station were: •
Mittheilungen der Zoologischen Station in Neapel •
Zoologischer Jahresbericht, a reference journal known for its rapid publication and accuracy •
Fauna und Flora des Golfes von Neapel, an inventory of the biota of Mediterranean (in 1876, Anton Dohrn added a section of Botany) Image:ZoologischerJahresbericht1911.jpg|
Zoologischer Jahresbericht 1911 Image:CefalopodiViventinelGolfodiNapoliTav3.jpg|
Plate from Cefalopodi Viventi nel Golfo di Napoli Fauna und Flora des Golfes von Neapel Image:MittheilungenderZoologischenStationinNeapel1879.jpg|
Mittheilungen der Zoologischen Station in Neapel1879 Image:LeAttinieMonografiadelAngeloAndresTaf2.jpg|Plate from
Le Attinie Monografia del Angelo Andres Fauna und Flora des Golfes von Neapel
Library Charles Darwin had advised Dohrn that establishing a library would be unwise (Groeben, 1982, p. 29). Dohrn argued that availability of all the major published sources was essential. He gave his own books and scientific journals to the Station and persuaded publishers and scientists to donate their publications. The Naples Station's biological reference collection is still unrivalled in Europe today. The first librarian was Emil Schoebel. Image:PSM V77 D226 View of the library facing east.png|View of the library facing east Image:PSM V77 D227 View of the library facing west.png|View of the library facing east Image:SZNFrescoRoom (2).jpg|Corner with frescos
Equipment The station maintained a high level of technical services.
Ernst Abbe (1840–1905) of the
Zeiss factory, a close friend, supplied sets of Zeiss instruments at low prices, thus bringing Zeiss equipment, sometimes improved, to the attention of the international scientific community. Assistants and guests collaborated in improving section-cutting and staining. For collecting, there were several crewed boats, including the steamers "Johannes Muller" and "Francis Balfour". An engineer and assisting machinists maintained the aquarium and a trained mechanic made instruments for experimental investigations. Image:SZNDohrnwithZeissMicroscope 1889.jpg|Anton Dohrn with a Zeiss microscope Image:Microscope Zeiss 1879.jpg|Microscope made by Zeiss, Jena in 1879 Image:SZNJohannesMullerFrankBalfour.jpg|the
Johannes Muller and the
Frank Balfour Image:Britannica Dredge and Dredging 14.jpg|
Naturalist's dredge Image:Microtome1905.JPG|
Mikrotom made by von C. Reichert, Wien
The aquarium The aquarium was constructed by
William Alford Lloyd . Dohrn had met Lloyd in 1866 in
Hamburg. Image:PSM V77 D221 Palm like ringed worms.png|1910 Image:VascaAntonDohrnNaples.jpg|Today
Culture Dohrn followed
Goethe in considering arts and science inseparable. He was devoted to music and in 1873 employed
Hans von Marées (1837–1887) and
Adolf von Hildebrand to enhance Stazione Zoologica with art works. Image:Marée,_Hans_von_(1837-1887)_-_La_barca_2.jpg| Image:Hans von Marées 002.jpg|Pescatori ==Later history==