Karl Ernst Ritter von Baer Edler von Huthorn (28 February [O.S. 17 February] 1792 – 28 November [O.S. 16 November] 1876) was a Baltic German scientist and explorer. Baer was a naturalist, biologist, geologist, meteorologist, geographer, and is considered a, or the, founding father of embryology. He was a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a co-founder of the Russian Geographical Society, and the first president of the Russian Entomological Society, making him one of the most distinguished Baltic German scientists.