Pehr Forsskål

Pehr Forsskål (or Peter Forskål ) (January 11th 1732, Helsinki - July 11th 1763, Yemen) is an explorer, an orientalist and a Naturaliste Swedish.

Forsskål was born in Finland where his/her father, Johannes Forsskål, are useful like Pasteur. The Forsskål family returns to Sweden in 1741 when the father obtains the parish of Tegelsmora in the province of Uppland (and the archbishop's palace of Uppsala). He attends the Université of Uppsala at 10 years, which was not exceptional for the time. He stops his studies a few years before being again registered in 1751 and obtains a diploma of Théologie the same year.

He follows the courses of Carl von Linné (1707-1778) and of the orientalist Carl Aurivillius (1717-1786), which maintain the contacts Johann David Michaelis (1717-1791) of Göttingen. It is undoubtedly for that Forsskål goes to the university of Göttingen in 1753 to study the Eastern languages and philosophy there. It obtains its doctorate in there 1756 (its thesis is entitled Dubia of principiis philosophiae recentioris ).

It turns over the same year to Uppsala where it continues studies of economy. But its essay of 1759 where he preaches freedom of the press, libertate civili , is censured by the government and he is banished country.

On the recommendations of Michaelis and with the support of Linné, Forsskål is engaged in 1760 by Frederic V of Denmark (1723-1766) to take part in a forwarding in Arabia under the control of Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815), orientalist and mathematician. Forwarding remains initially in Egypt and Forsskål improves its knowledge there of the Arab dialects. End 1762, forwarding arrives at the Yemen. Forsskål constitutes a large collection of animals and plants of this country but he dies of malaria in July 1763.

Niebuhr, only survivor of forwarding, takes care of the publication of the manuscripts of Forsskål. It makes appear in 1775 Descriptiones Animalium - Avium, amphiborum, insectorum, vermium quæ in itinere orientali observavit Petrus Forskål . The same year, it also makes appear a catalog of plant of Yemen and low-Egypt, sive Flora Ægyptiaco-Arabica descriptiones plantarum quas per Ægyptum Inferiorem and Arabiam felicem detexit, it Petrus Forskål . The determinations of Forsskål are famous for their precise details.

But the collection of Forsskål is almost entirely lost or deteriorated by its transport until Copenhagen. Its Herbier will be restored 150 years after its death by the botanist Carl Frederik Albert Christensen (1872-1942).

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