Wilhelm Olbers Focke (5 April 1834, Bremen – 29 September 1922, Bremen) was a medical doctor and botanist who in 1881 published a significant work on plant breeding entitled Die Pflanzen-Mischlinge, Ein Beitrag zur Biologie der Gewächse (The plant hybrids, a contribution to the biology of plants)[1] which briefly mentioned Gregor Mendel's discoveries on hybridization.
[2] Although Charles Darwin had a copy of Focke's book he passed it along to a colleague apparently without reading this particular section.
He also did much of the work throughout his life on the taxonomy of Rubus (Rosaceae) and published several studies (1877-1914).
[4] He wrote a number of section monographs for Adolf Engler and Karl Anton Eugen Prantl eds.
[5] On examining the Focke entries on this list of articles, one can appreciate the wide range of subjects that he studied as well as the industry with which he applied himself to his work.