Buchner was born in Munich to a physician and Doctor Extraordinary of Forensic Medicine. His older brother was Hans Ernst August Buchner.[1] In 1884, he began studies of chemistry with Adolf von Baeyer and of botany with Professor C. von Naegeli, at the Botanic Institute in Munich. After a period working with Hermann Emil Fischer in Erlangen, Buchner was awarded a doctorate from the University of Munich in 1888.