Hermann Welcker

Hermann Welcker (8 April 1822 – 12 September 1897) was a German anatomist and anthropologist who was born in Giessen.

In 1876 he succeeded Alfred Wilhelm Volkmann (1801–1877) as director of the anatomical institute at Halle.

Along with his anatomical duties, Welcker was also a specialist in the fields of anthropology, ethnology, microscopy and biology.

He is also credited with starting the first study of the persistence of friction ridge skin over time.

[1] In 1889 Welcker received a patent for the invention of "galvanic spectacles", which were essentially battery-operated eyeglasses with nosepiece electrodes.