Apostles of Linnaeus

Many newly discovered plants, animals and insects were named and catalogued by Linnaeus and apostles.

As a result, the apostles' expeditions helped spread the Linnaean taxonomy, a system for classifying organisms.

Additionally, one of Linnaeus' admirers, the English botanist Joseph Banks, was inspired to begin the tradition for all British research ships to have a naturalist aboard.

Nine years later he became the university's rector, starting a period where natural sciences were held in the greatest esteem.

[8] Among Linnaeus' notable students, the most promising and committed ones made botanical expeditions to various places in the world, often with the help of their professor.

[9] The amount of this help varied; sometimes he used his influence as Rector to grant his apostles a place on an expedition or a scholarship.

The apostles collected, organised and classified new plants, animals and minerals according to Linnaeus' classification system.

[12] In early 1746, Tärnström received free passage on the Swedish East India Company ship Calmar to China.

However, Calmar stopped sailing beyond Côn Sơn Island (off the modern-day Vietnamese coast) because it had been forced to find a winter berth.

[15] Pehr Kalm (1715–1779) was born in Sweden to Finnish parents and became a student of Linnaeus in December 1740.

Linnaeus concurred and in November 1747 Kalm began his journey to North America sponsored by the universities in Uppsala and Åbo.

Once there, he stayed in North America for two and a half years, visiting the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and southern Canada.

Kalm is one of the few apostles who actually lived up to Linnaeus' hopes; bringing with him a large collection of pressed plants and seeds.

His travel experience was later published in a three-volume book, En resa til Norra America.

[13][17][18][19][20] Fredric Hasselquist (1722–1752) heard Linnaeus talking about the botanically unexplored Eastern Mediterranean and he was inspired to travel there.

Swedish Queen Louisa Ulrika paid the debt and Linnaeus received Hasselquist's findings.

During his journey, he corresponded with Linnaeus; these letters were published posthumously as an appendix in the travelogue of another apostle, Pehr Osbeck.

This incident ended the relationship between the two men and Linnaeus was heard to speak ill of Rolander on several occasions.

Linnaeus helped Martin get a small grant from Sweden's Royal Academy of Sciences to go to Spitsbergen, an island in the Arctic Ocean.

Although it was a Danish expedition, King Frederick V stated that the findings would not be placed in Copenhagen until several international botanists, including Linnaeus, had studied them.

The expedition reached Yemen in April 1763 where Forsskål found a Commiphora which Linnaeus was particularity interested in.

[38][39][40] Göran Rothman (1739–1778) studied medicine at Uppsala University and carried out his dissertation with Linnaeus as his supervisor.

Following his death, his collections and journals were sent to Saint Petersburg to be later completed and published as Beyträga zur topografischen Kenntniss des Russichen Reichs in 1785–86 by Samuel Georg Gmelin.

In 1768 Solander was employed by the English botanist Joseph Banks to follow James Cook on his first journey to the Pacific Ocean aboard the Endeavour.

The Endeavour sailed to Australia, Asia, Africa and several other places where Solander and Banks made many natural sciences discoveries.

[46][47][48] Even before he became an apostle, Anders Sparrman (1748–1820) had made a two-year-long journey to China as a surgeon on a Swedish East India Company ship.

All foreigners in Japan were forced to stay on the Dejima island, outside Nagasaki, so it was difficult for Thunberg to study the mainland flora.

[51][52] Andreas Berlin (1746–1773) studied in Uppsala University with Linnaeus as his student before travelling to London to find a botanical expedition he could join.

The purpose of the expedition was to explore the central parts of Africa but prior to reaching the mainland, Berlin died of a stomach illness while on the Îles de Los.

[53][54] Adam Afzelius (1750–1837) joined an English expedition to Sierra Leone in 1792 after studying and lecturing in Uppsala.