Rudolf Goethe (1843 in Naumburg an der Saale – 1911 in Darmstadt) was a viticulturist (oenologist). He was the son of tax councilor Theodor Daniel Goethe (1789–1853) and a distant relative of the poet Goethe. In 1874, he became director of the Imperial School of Fruit Growing and Horticulture in Brumath, Alsace. During his five-year tenure in Brumath, he earned an excellent reputation as a researcher and scientist. In 1879, he was appointed director of the Royal Prussian School of Fruit Growing and Viticulture in Geisenheim.
(Müller, Walter). Goethe, Degenkolb und Mertens. Apples and pears. "Aepfel und Birnen. Die wichtigsten deutschen Kernobstsorten". Berlin: Parey, 1894. Large 8vo. (3) ll., 104 chromolitho. plates (each with a sheet of text), 12 pp., (3) ll. Orig. il. half-cloth binding.