Carl Peter Thunberg

Carl Peter Thunberg is a Naturaliste Swedish, born the November 11th 1743 with Jönköping and dead the August 8th 1828 with Thunaberg close to Uppsala. It was called the Père of South-African botany and the Linné Japanese .

Biography

It follows the courses of Linné to the university of Uppsala. It obtains its titles of doctor in Médecine and Natural history in 1767. In 1770, it leaves Sweden for Paris, where it continues its studies in these two disciplines.

In 1771, during a voyage to the Netherlands, it studies the botanical gardens and the natural history musea of Amsterdam and Leyde. He proposes to leave to visit the Dutch colonies and the Japan in order to collect specimens for the Dutch botanical gardens there. He leaves in December 1771 as doctor on board a ship the Dutch Compagnie the Eastern Indies. It arrives at the Cape where it remains three years in the Dutch colony to learn Dutch there. Its goal is to be able to be made pass for Dutch to Japan, country only open to the Dutch Protestant merchants. During its stay, it makes several forwardings in the interior of the grounds, often meeting great dangers, in order to collect specimens of plants and animals.

In March 1775, Thunberg leaves to the island Java and remains with Batavia for two months.

In August 1775, it arrives at the Dutch manufacture of the Dutch Company of the Eastern Indies on the tiny artificial island of Dejima (120 m out of 75 m) in bay of Nagasaki, connected to the ground by a quay level. It works there as surgeon (1775-1776). Like other Dutch of this establishment, it almost did not have the possibility of going to ground. It could nevertheless undertake some botanical research.

In order to obtain more specimens, it negotiates from its interpreters, the exchange of informations of Western medicine against new vegetable specimens. Mid- 1776, it can accompany the director by the Dutch colony at the time of a visit to the Shogun in Edo (the old name of Tōkyō). During this long tour, it can herborize many plants.

Thunberg leaves Japan in November 1776. After a short halt in Java, it arrives at Colombo, Ceylon (today Sri Lanka), in July 1776. It makes several voyages in the island, in particular to visit the Dutch colony of Galle. It continues, of course, its herborizings.

In February 1778, Thunberg leaves Ceylon for Amsterdam. During its return, it stops during two weeks in the Cape and arrives at Amsterdam in October 1778. It goes first of all to London where it meets Sir Joseph Banks. He sees the Japanese collection of the German naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716) which had been, before him, in Dejima. He also meets Johann Reinhold Forster which makes him visit its collections assembled at the time of the second voyage of James Cook.

He turns over to Sweden in March 1779 where he earlier learns death from Linné occurred one year. He replaces it soon at the university of Uppsala as professor of Médecine and Natural history (1781).

The result of its research appear under the title of Flora Japonica in 1784. It gives, with many new species, the épithèque of japonica ; the majority came in fact from China and had been imported in Japan to decorate the gardens of the country.

In 1788, it makes appear the account of its voyage under the title of Voyages of C.P. Thunberg in Japan by the Cape of Good Hope, Isles of the Probe, etc . The account of its stay with Dejima is rather dark.

It supplements its botanical work by Prodomus plantarum in 1800, Icones plantarum japonicarum in 1805 and Flora capensis in 1813. It makes appear many articles in the Swedish scientific magazines and other countries. It is made honorary members of 26 learned societies. Thunberg becomes thus member of Royal Society the April 3rd 1788. Prolific author, 112 titles are allotted to him.

The tropical kind Thunbergia (of the family of the Acanthaceae) was dedicated to him. More than 250 so animal plant species but dedicated to him.

Some publications

Old editions

Botanical

Flora Japonica (1784)
Prodromus Plantarum Capensium (Uppsala, 1794).
Flora Capensis (1807, 1811,1813,1818,1820,1823)
Voyages of C.P. Thunberg in Japan by the Cape of Good Hope, Isles of the Probe , etc
Icons plantarum japonicarum (1805)

Entomology

Donationis Thunbergianae 1785 continuatio I. Museum naturalium Academiae Upsaliensis , leave III, 33-42 pp. (1787).
Dissertatio Entomologica Novas Insectorum species sistens, cujus partem quintam. Publico examini subjicit Johannes Olai Noraeus, Uplandus . Upsaliae, pp. 85-106, pl. 5. (1789).
D.D. Dissertatio entomologica sistens Insecta Suecica. Exam. Jonas Kullberg . Upsaliae, pp. 99-104 (1794).

Recent editions

(1966). Japan of the XVIIIe century seen by a Swedish botanist CH. - P. Thunberg. Calmann-Levy (Paris): 301 p.

Source

Michael Walters (2003). has Concise History Ornithology off. Yale University Close (New Haven, Connecticut): 255 p.

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