 He initially studied at Karlsschule Stuttgart, then furthered his education at the University of Göttingen (1786–88), where he had as instructors Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, Johann Friedrich Gmelin and Georg Christoph Lichtenberg.Afterwards, he returned to Karlsschule Stuttgart, where in 1792 he was appointed professor of chemistry.In 1796 he became a professor of chemistry and botany at the University of Tübingen, where he established the Botanischer Garten der Universität Tübingen in 1804.