Johann August Ephraim Goeze

Johann August Ephraim Goeze (; 28 May 1731 – 27 June 1793) was a German zoologist, born in Aschersleben. He is known for the discovery of tardigrades, also called water bears. He was the son of Johann Heinrich and Catherine Margarete (née Kirchhoff). He studied theology at University of Halle. He married Leopoldine Maria Keller in 1770, by 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.

He did much work with 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'. Provided by Wikipedia