René Malaise
Encyclopedia
René Edmond Malaise was a Swedish
entomologist
, explorer
and art collector who is mostly known for his invention of the Malaise trap
and his systematic collection of thousands of insect
s.
between 1920 and 1922 along with Sten Bergman
and Eric Hultén
. Malaise eventually left the others and arrived in Kamakura
, Japan
in August 1923, just days before the great earthquake on 31 August 1923 which he witnessed from a short distance before his return to Stockholm. He then traveled back to Kamchatka in 1924 along with his fiancée, the journalist, writer and explorer Ester Blenda Nordström
and did not return from the Soviet Union until 1930. On 31 August 1925 Ester Blenda married him on Kamchatka. They would divorce in 1929.
Malaise then set out on another expedition of his own to northern Burma between 1933 and 1935, with Ebba accompanying him on the trip. It was here, in Yangon
(Rangoon), 1934 that he had five insect traps of his own construction manufactured, effectively inventing the "Malaise trap". During this trip he collected some 100.000 insects, many of these totally unknown to entomology before Malaise's endeavor. Between 1953 and 1958 he supervised the entomological department of the Swedish Museum of Natural History
.
His only endeavor into geology
, was his book Atlantis, en geologisk verklighet ("Atlantis, a geological reality"), which was widely ridiculed by the scientific community. In this book, he defended the "constriction theory" of paleozoologist
Nils Odhner and claimed that Alfred Wegener
s theory of plate tectonics
was incorrect and that the migration of species has been helped by a sunken continent in the Atlantic, i.e. Atlantis
.
In his later years he spent most of his time building up a large art collection, including works of Rembrandt.
)and in German ("Die Fliegenfalle") contains several chapters with tidbits from the life of Malaise that he has found in different places.
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....
entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
, explorer
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
and art collector who is mostly known for his invention of the Malaise trap
Malaise trap
A Malaise trap is a large, tent-like structure used for trapping flying insects particularly Hymenoptera and Diptera. The trap is made of a material such as terylene netting and can be various colours. Insects fly into the tent wall and are funnelled into a collecting vessel attached to highest point...
and his systematic collection of thousands of insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s.
Early career
As an explorer he took part in an expedition to KamchatkaKamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
between 1920 and 1922 along with Sten Bergman
Sten Bergman
Sten Bergman was a Swedish zoologist, who visited Korea, Kamchatka, Papua New Guinea, and many other places.- Bergman's bear :...
and Eric Hultén
Eric Hultén
Oskar Eric Gunnar Hultén was a Swedish botanist, plant geographer and 20th century explorer of The Arctic. He was born in Halla in Södermanland. He took his licentiate exam 1931 at Stockholm University and obtained his doctorate degree in botany at Lund University in 1937...
. Malaise eventually left the others and arrived in Kamakura
Kamakura, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in August 1923, just days before the great earthquake on 31 August 1923 which he witnessed from a short distance before his return to Stockholm. He then traveled back to Kamchatka in 1924 along with his fiancée, the journalist, writer and explorer Ester Blenda Nordström
Ester Blenda Nordström
Ester Blenda Nordström was a Swedish journalist, author and explorer. She often published here writings under the signature Bansai. In 1914 she published En piga bland pigor which was an early form of investigative journalism and received a lot of attention. She continued with investigative...
and did not return from the Soviet Union until 1930. On 31 August 1925 Ester Blenda married him on Kamchatka. They would divorce in 1929.
Later life
In 1933 he married Ebba Söderhell, a teacher of biology and religion from Stockholm. Hon finns förtecknad i "Adressförteckning för Stockholms förstäder, 1925 T-Ö" som Söderhell, Ebba, Lärar:a, kv.Blocket 1, Lidingö-Brevik.Malaise then set out on another expedition of his own to northern Burma between 1933 and 1935, with Ebba accompanying him on the trip. It was here, in Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
(Rangoon), 1934 that he had five insect traps of his own construction manufactured, effectively inventing the "Malaise trap". During this trip he collected some 100.000 insects, many of these totally unknown to entomology before Malaise's endeavor. Between 1953 and 1958 he supervised the entomological department of the Swedish Museum of Natural History
Swedish Museum of Natural History
The Swedish Museum of Natural History , in Stockholm, is one of two major museums of natural history in Sweden, the other one being located in Gothenburg....
.
His only endeavor into geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, was his book Atlantis, en geologisk verklighet ("Atlantis, a geological reality"), which was widely ridiculed by the scientific community. In this book, he defended the "constriction theory" of paleozoologist
Paleozoology
Paleozoology, also spelled as palaeozoology , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of multicellular animal remains from geological contexts, and the use of these fossils in the reconstruction of prehistoric environments and ancient...
Nils Odhner and claimed that Alfred Wegener
Alfred Wegener
Alfred Lothar Wegener was a German scientist, geophysicist, and meteorologist.He is most notable for his theory of continental drift , proposed in 1912, which hypothesized that the continents were slowly drifting around the Earth...
s theory of plate tectonics
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...
was incorrect and that the migration of species has been helped by a sunken continent in the Atlantic, i.e. Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
.
In his later years he spent most of his time building up a large art collection, including works of Rembrandt.
Sources
There is no written biography on Malaise, but Fredrik Sjöbergs essay named Flugfällan ISBN 91-578-0448-6 (The Fly Trap, only available in SwedishSwedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
)and in German ("Die Fliegenfalle") contains several chapters with tidbits from the life of Malaise that he has found in different places.