Peter Ascanius

Peter Ascanius (24 May 1723 – 4 June 1803) was a Norwegian biologist and geologist. He was a professor of zoology and mineralogy. [1] [2]

Peter Ascanius
Born(1723-05-24)24 May 1723
Aure, Møre og Romsdal, Norway.
Died4 June 1803(1803-06-04) (aged 80)
Copenhagen, Denmark
CitizenshipNorwegian
Scientific career
FieldsBiologist
Academic advisorsCarl Linnaeus
Johan Gottschalk Wallerius

Biography

He was born at Aure in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. In 1742 he graduated from Trondheim Cathedral School and attended the University of Copenhagen where he studied medicine and took a Bachelor's degree in 1747. From 1752 he stayed a couple of years at Uppsala University where he was a student of Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778). He studied natural history with Linnaeus and chemistry and metallurgy with Johan Gottschalk Wallerius (1709–1785). Ascanius undertook a study trip in the years 1753 to 1758, visiting the Netherlands, England, France, Italy and Austria.[2][3][4] [5]

After returning from his European study trip, in 1759 Ascanius was appointed professor of natural history at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts which was established at Charlottenborg at Copenhagen in 1754. He taught zoology and mineralogy in Copenhagen from 1759 to 1771. In 1768 he was sent on a research and collection trip along the Norwegian coast from Kristiansand to Bergen. In 1753, Ascanius visited the iron deposit Taberg in Småland. In the years 1771–1776 he worked as a mining inspector at the silver mines in Kongsberg. During the period 1776–1788, he was made a senior mining official (Berghauptmann) and was given responsibility for iron smelting and hammering at the Kongsberg Silver Mines and teaching at the Kongsberg School of Mines.[2] [6]

Among his published works was the five-volume illustrated Icones rerum naturalium. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, elected in 1755 as a Foreign Member.[7] [6]

References
  1. "Peder Ascanius (1723-1803)" (PDF). Naturhistorisk Museum, UiO. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  2. "Peder Ascanius". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  3. "Peter Ascanius, norsk naturforskare". Nordisk familjebok. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  4. "Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778)". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  5. "Johan Gottschalk Wallerius". Nordisk familjebok. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  6. Rune S. Selbekk. "Peder Ascanius". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  7. "Fellow details". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
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