Göran Wahlenberg

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name = Göran Wahlenberg


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birth_name = Göran Wahlenberg
birth_date = birth date|1780|10|1
birth_place = Kroppa, Värmland County
death_date = death date and age|1851|3|22|1780|10|1
death_place = Uppsala
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other_names = Georg Wahlenberg
known_for = Plant geography
education = Uppsala University
employer = Uppsala University
occupation = Chair of Botany and Medicine
title = Professor
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predecessor = Carl Peter Thunberg
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religion = Lutheran
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Georg (Göran) Wahlenberg (1 October, 1780 – 22 March, 1851) was a Swedish naturalist. He was born in Kroppa, Värmland County.

Wahlenberg matriculated at Uppsala University in 1792, received his doctorate in Medicine in 1806, was appointed "botanices demonstrator" in 1814, and professor of medicine and botany in 1829, succeeding Carl Peter Thunberg. He was the last holder of the undivided chair that in the previous century had been held by Linnaeus. After his death in 1851, the chair was divided into more delimited professorships, and botany became the main duty of the borgströmian professorship, at the time held by Elias Fries.

Wahlenberg made his main work in the field of plant geography and published, among other things the "Flora lapponica" (1812) and other works on the plant world of northernmost Sweden. He was among the first major scholars to contribute to the plant taxonomy and geography of the High Tatras in the Habsburg Monarchy where he carried out research in 1813 (he also determined mountain elevations, but some were later disproved by Ludwig Greiner). Two of the highest mountain lakes in the Tatras, now in Slovakia, are named "Vyšné Wahlenbergovo pleso" (elevation 2,157 m; 7,077 ft.) and "Nižné Wahlenbergovo pleso" (2,053 m; 6,736 ft.) in his memory. [ [http://www.vysoketatry.com/ciele/fdolina/en.html Furkotská Valley with Upper and Lower Wahlenberg Lakes.] ]

The harebell family of Wahlenbergia was named after him. The standard botanical author abbreviation Wahlenb. is applied to species he described. He died in Uppsala.

References

ee also

* Wahlenbergfjord, a fjord named in his honour.