Around schooling age, his father, Johann, encouraged him to study Business, there being poor rewards awaiting a Mathematician. However, Daniel refused, because he wanted to study mathematics. He later gave in to his father's wish and studied Business. His father then asked him to study in Medicine, and Daniel agreed under the condition that his father would teach him mathematics privately, which they continued for some time. Daniel studied Medicine at Basel, Heidelberg, and Strasbourg, and earned a PhD in anatomy and botany in 1721.