Pehr Osbeck
Encyclopedia
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
explorer, naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus
Apostles of Linnaeus
The Apostles of Linnaeus were a group of students who carried out botanical and zoological expeditions throughout the world that were either devised or approved by botanist Carl Linnaeus. The expeditions took place during the latter half of the 18th century and the students were designated...
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Naturalist in Canton
He was born in the parish of HålandaAle Municipality
Ale Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Nödinge-Nol....
in Västergötland
Västergötland
', English exonym: West Gothland, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....
and studied at Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
with Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
. In 1750–1752 he travelled as chaplain on the ship Prins Carl to Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
where he spent four months studying the flora, fauna, and people of the Canton
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
region of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. He returned home just in time to contribute more than 600 species of plant to Linnaeus' Species Plantarum, published in 1753.
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
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He ended his career as the parish priest of Våxtorp
Våxtorp
Våxtorp is a locality situated in Laholm Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 986 inhabitants in 2005.The village is situated not too far from the horst Hallandsåsen and the national highway number 24 runs through it. Most of the modern settlement has grown around the crossing of the roads...
and Hasslöv
Hasslöv
Hasslöv is a locality situated in Laholm Municipality, Halland County, Sweden with 242 inhabitants in 2005....
in Halland
Halland
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
, where he died in 1805.
His large collections are preserved in Sweden and the UK. He is commemorated by the genus Osbeckia
Osbeckia
Osbeckia is a genus of plants in the family Melastomataceae. It was named by Carolus Linnaeus for the Swedish explorer and naturalist Pehr Osbeck .-Dsitribution:...
L.
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
of plants in the family Melastomataceae
Melastomataceae
right|thumb|200px|Characteristic venation of many melastomesThe family Melastomataceae is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants found mostly in the tropics comprising some 200 genera and 4500 species...
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Selected works
- Osbeck, Pehr (1771). A voyage to China and East Indies, Vol. I. London: Benjamin White. [digitized by University of Hong Kong Libraries, Digital Initiatives, "China Through Western Eyes." ]
- Osbeck, Pehr (1771). A voyage to China and East Indies, Vol. II. London: Benjamin White. [digitized by University of Hong Kong Libraries, Digital Initiatives, "China Through Western Eyes." ]