Morten Pedersen Porsild
Encyclopedia
Morten Pedersen Porsild (1872–1956) was a Danish
botanist who lived and worked most of his adult life in Greenland
. He participated in expeditions to Greenland
in 1898 and 1902, together with the physiologist
August Krogh
. In 1906, he founded the Arctic Station in Qeqertarsuaq
, West Greenland
, since 1956 part of the University of Copenhagen
. He got support from famous polar researchers like Knud Rasmussen, Mylius-Erichsen
and Fridtjof Nansen
. A private person donated the building and running cost were put directly on the Danish
state budget. Morten Porsild managed the station for forty years. In 1946, he returned to Copenhagen
, and was succeeded as station head by Paul Gelting
. He was the father of Alf Erling Porsild, Robert Thorbjørn Porsild, Asta Irmelin "Tulle" Egede and Ove Sten Porsild.
Apart from botany
, Porsild contributed to zoology
and ethnography
. He also entered Greenland
politics.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
botanist who lived and worked most of his adult life in Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. He participated in expeditions to Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
in 1898 and 1902, together with the physiologist
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
August Krogh
August Krogh
Schack August Steenberg Krogh FRS was a Danish professor of Romani background at the department of zoophysiology at the University of Copenhagen from 1916-1945...
. In 1906, he founded the Arctic Station in Qeqertarsuaq
Qeqertarsuaq
Qeqertarsuaq is a port and a town in Qaasuitsup municipality, located on the south coast of Qeqertarsuaq Island, an island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, it is home to a campus of the University of Copenhagen...
, West Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, since 1956 part of the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
. He got support from famous polar researchers like Knud Rasmussen, Mylius-Erichsen
Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen
Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen was a Danish author, ethnologist, and explorer, from Ringkøbing. He was most notably an explorer of Greenland. With Count Harald Moltke and Knud Rasmussen he formed the Danish Literary expedition to West Greenland, and in the early stages discovered near Evigheds Fiord two...
and Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...
. A private person donated the building and running cost were put directly on the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
state budget. Morten Porsild managed the station for forty years. In 1946, he returned to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, and was succeeded as station head by Paul Gelting
Paul Gelting
Paul Emil Elliot Gelting was a Danish ecologist, botanist and lichenologist. He was associate professor at the University of Copenhagen and particularly active in Greenland....
. He was the father of Alf Erling Porsild, Robert Thorbjørn Porsild, Asta Irmelin "Tulle" Egede and Ove Sten Porsild.
Apart from botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, Porsild contributed to zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
. He also entered Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
politics.
Selected works
- Porsild, Morten P. (1910) Hvor opholder den grønlandske laks sig om vinteren (Where does the Greenlandic salmon stay during winter?). Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
47. - Porsild, Morten P. (1910) Plant life of Hare IslandHare IslandHare Island is an island which lies adjoining the Tuticorin port. It is a very good picnic spot for holiday seekers and the domestic tourist. Many tourists visit here during the Pongal holidays when special buses are operated for the benefit of the tourists....
off the coast of West Greenland. Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
47: 251-274. - Porsild, Morten P. (1911) Une arme ancienne de chasse des esquimaux et son analogue de la culture préhistorique de France (An ancient eskimo hunting weapon and its analogue in the prehistoric culture of France). Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
47. - Porsild, Morten P. (1914) Studies on the material culture of the EskimoEskimoEskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
in West GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
51 (5). - Porsild, Morten P. (1915) On the Genus AntennariaAntennariaAntennaria is a genus of about 45 species of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Asteraceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with one species in temperate southern South America; the highest species diversity is in North America...
in Greenland. Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
51: 267-81. - Porsild, Morten P. (1918) Om nogle vestgrønlandske patterdyr og fugle; I-II. Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
56 (1918): 29-54- Part 1 on wolves, dogsGreenland DogThe Greenland Dog is a large breed of husky-type dog kept as a sled dog and for hunting polar bear and seal. This is an ancient breed, thought to be directly descended from dogs brought to Greenland by the first Inuit settlers.-Appearance:The Greenland Dog is a powerful, heavy-built dog...
and reindeerReindeerThe reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
, Part 2 on the narwhalNarwhalThe narwhal, Monodon monoceros, is a medium-sized toothed whale that lives year-round in the Arctic. One of two living species of whale in the Monodontidae family, along with the beluga whale, the narwhal males are distinguished by a characteristic long, straight, helical tusk extending from their...
.
- Part 1 on wolves, dogs
- Porsild, Morten P. (1918) On "Savssats": A crowding of Arctic animals at holes in the sea ice. Geographical Review 6 (3): 215-228.
- Porsild, Morten P. (1919) Naussut suliarineránut panertíneránutdlo najorĸutagssiaĸ [translated title: Guide to pressing and drying plants]. K’eĸertarssuarme, 6 pp.
- Porsild, Morten P. (assisted by A. Erling PorsildErling Porsild-Biography:He was born in Copenhagen as a son of the botanist M.P. Porsild. He grew up on the Arctic Station in Qeqertarsuaq, West Greenland, where he acted as assistant to his father. Between 1936-1945, he was curator at the National Museum of Canada, Ottawa, and from 1945 to 1967 he was head of...
) (1920) The flora of Disko IslandDisko IslandDisko Island is a large island in Baffin Bay, off the west coast of Greenland. It has an area of , making it the second largest island of Greenland and one of the 100 largest islands in the world...
and the adjacent coast of West GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
from 66-71 n. lat.: with remarks on phytogeography, ecology, flowering, fructification and hibernation. Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
58 (1-2) - Porsild, Morten P. (1932) Alien plants and apophytes of Greenland. Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
92 (1), 85 pp.