Raoul Heinrich France (1874-1943) was a botanist and microbiologist. In 1907 he created the German micrological society, to make the use of the microscope popular in order to create an understanding for the theory of modern biology. After a ten-year intensive occupation with the plant he saw it as a complete harmonious organization. France believed that many principles of human inventions are already available and that therefore technical problems can be solved by the study and application of biological models. Thus he can be considered as a founder of biotechnology. He was also one of the first environmentalists, as early as 1924 writing that humans must arrange themselves in harmony with natural laws and cycles and said that humans can poison rivers by waste water, make air contaminated by smoke and exhaust gases, but they cannot destroy the laws of nature without being destroyed. France investigated the small living world in the water and in the soil and was the first to discover the importance of microorganisms for humus formation and soil fertility. Building on his knowledge of soil organisms, he developed a patented procedure for the regulated composting of organic wastes. He wrote 60 books and a multiplicity of popular-scientific articles and writings, and was publisher or editor of several magazines on microbiology and the miniature world.