[1] Emil Rostrup was born at the village of Stokkemarke on the Danish island of Lolland.
From 1858, Rostrup was a teacher at the paedagogical college Skårup Seminarium in then new subject natural history.
In the meantime he had become well known for his flora handbooks and his works on plant pathology.
He was appointed docent at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in 1883.
Rostrup was first real plant pathologist in Denmark and probably the greatest ever.