Anton Dohrn. Portrait of Anton Dohrn (1840-1909), German zoologist and founder of the first marine research institute in Naples, Italy. Dohrn studied zoology at various universities before gaining his doctorate under Haeckel at Jena. In 1865 Dohrn began to plan the founding of a marine research institute. In 1870 he decided to finance such an institute by means of a public aquarium. The city of Naples offered him land and the Stazione Zoologica (Zoological Station) was opened in 1873. The station has since established a world-wide reputation for its study of the embryology and physiology of marine animals; 52 Nobel prize winners have been associated with it.