 He was a prominent figure in pre-Darwinian evolutionary science, being remembered for development of an early theory of biological recapitulation--the idea that embryos pass through developmental stages that reflect their "primitive ancestors".He published little in his lifetime, and much of what is known about his scientific philosophy is derived from lectures he gave.The plant genus "Kielmeyera" was named in his honor by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius in 1826.