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Pehr Kalm

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Pehr Kalm
Born6 March 1716
Angermanland,Sweden
Died16 November 1779(1779-11-16)(aged 63)
Turku,Sweden
A portrait commonly believed to portray Kalm, although some modern-day historians have suggested it may be of Kalm's colleague Pehr Gadd.[1]Painted byJohan Georg Geitel,1764.

Pehr Kalm(6 March 1716 – 16 November 1779), also known asPeter Kalm,was a Swedishexplorer,botanist,naturalist,andagricultural economist.He was one of the most importantapostlesofCarl Linnaeus.

In 1747, he was commissioned by theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciencesto travel to the North American colonies in order to bring back seeds and plants that might be useful to agriculture. Among his many scientific accomplishments, Kalm can be credited with the first description ofNiagara Fallswritten by a trained scientist.[2]In addition, he published the first scientific paper on the North American 17-year periodical cicada,Magicicada septendecim.

Kalm wrote an account of his travels that was translated into numerous European languages; a 20th-century translation remains in print in English asPeter Kalm's Travels in North America: The English Version of 1770,translated by Swedish-American scholarAdolph B. Benson.

Biography[edit]

Kalm was born to Gabriel Kalm and Katarina Ross inÅngermanland,Sweden,where his parents had taken refuge fromFinlandduring theGreat Northern War.His father was aFinnishclergyman and his mother was of Scottish ancestry.[3]His father died six weeks after his birth. When the hostilities were over, his widowed mother returned with him toNärpesinOstrobothnia,where Kalm's father had been a Lutheran minister.

Kalm studied at theRoyal Academy of Turkufrom 1735. In 1740, he entered theUniversity of Uppsala,where he became one of the first students of the renowned naturalistCarl Linnaeus.In Uppsala, Kalm became the superintendent of an experimental plantation owned by his patron,Baron Sten Karl Bielke.[4]

Kalm did field research in Sweden and TheRussian Empirefrom 1742 to 1746, when he was appointeddocentof natural history and economics at the Royal Academy of Turku. In 1747, the academy elevated him to professor of economics. That same year, he was also appointed by Linnaeus and theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences(of which he had been a member since 1745) to travel to North America to find seeds and plants that might prove useful for agriculture or industry. In particular, they wanted him to bring back thered mulberryin the hope of starting asilk industryin Finland (which was then an integral part of Sweden).

On his journey from Sweden toPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania,Kalm spent six months inEngland,where he met many of the important botanists of the day. Kalm arrived in Pennsylvania in 1748; there he was befriended byBenjamin Franklinand naturalistJohn Bartram.Kalm based his explorations at the Swedish-Finnish community of Raccoon, which is nowSwedesboro,New Jersey.This town had been founded as part of the former Swedish colony ofNew Sweden.There, he also served as the substitute pastor ofTrinity Church,the localSwedish Lutheranchurch. Kalm subsequently married Anna Margaretha Sjöman, the widow of Johan Sandin, the former pastor. He remained in Raccoon until 19 May 1749.[5]

Kalm made trips as far west asNiagara Fallsand as far north asMontrealandQuebecbefore returning to Finland in 1751. He took a post as professor at the Royal Academy of Turku. In addition to teaching and directing students, he established botanical gardens inTurku.He taught at the academy until his death in Turku in 1771.[6]

Anders Chydenius,another noted scientist, was a student of Pehr Kalm's.

Legacy[edit]

Illustration ofCohoes Falls,from the bookEn Resa til Norra Americaby Pehr Kalm
  • Kalm's journal of his travels was published asEn Resa til Norra America(Stockholm, 1753–1761). It was translated into German, Dutch, and French. Kalm described not only the flora and fauna of the New World, but also the lives of theNative Americansand theBritishandFrenchcolonists whom he met.[7]A United States edition was later translated and edited by Swedish-American scholar and literary historianAdolph B. Benson(1881–1961). It was published asPeter Kalm's Travels in North America: The English Version of 1770(Wilson-Erickson Inc., 1937). This version has become an important standard reference regarding life in colonial North America and has been in continuous print in several updated editions.
  • Kalm's paper on the lifecycle of the North American 17-yearperiodical cicada,Magicicada septendecim,was the first published scientific description of the species and its recurrent appearances.[8]
  • In hisSpecies Plantarum,Linnaeus cites Kalm for 90 species, 60 of them new, including the genusKalmia,which Linnaeus named after Kalm.Kalmia latifolia(Mountain-laurel) is the state flower of Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
  • TheMint of Finlandissued a coin in Kalm's honor.[9]He is regarded as one of the most notableFinnishexplorers. In Finland he is also known as Pietari Kalm.[10][11][12]
The standardauthor abbreviationKalmis used to indicate this person as the author whencitingabotanical name.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^TIEDE 5/2003, Suomalaisten löytöretket 3: Professori Kalm pääsi amerikan lehtiin.
  2. ^"Peter Kalm writes to Benjamin Franklin in 1750" (Niagara Falls)Archived2011-07-20 at theWayback Machine
  3. ^Jarrell, Richard A."KALM, PEHR".Dictionary of Canadian Biography.Retrieved2 September2019.... son of Gabriel Kalm, a Finnish clergyman, and Catherine Ross, of Scots ancestry;...
  4. ^American Journeys(Wisconsin Historical Society)
  5. ^Peter Kalm(Trinity Church - Swedesboro, New Jersey)
  6. ^Peter Kalm(L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec)
    Quebec City in 1749(ProvinceQuebec )Archived18 September 2010 at theWayback Machine
  7. ^En Resa til Norra America(Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America)Archived2011-07-24 at theWayback Machine
  8. ^(1)Davis, J.J. (May 1953)."Pehr Kalm's Description of the Periodical Cicada, Magicicada septendecim L., from Kongl. Svenska Vetenskap Academiens Handlinger, 17:101-116, 1756, translated by Larson, Esther Louise (Mrs. K.E. Doak)".The Ohio Journal of Science.53:139–140.hdl:1811/4028.Archivedfrom the original on 20 January 2015.Republished byKnowledge Bank: The Ohio State University Libraries and Office of the Chief Information Officer.Retrieved 2012-10-02.
    (2)Marlatt, C.L(1898)."The Periodical Cicada in Literature".The Periodical Cicada: An Account of Cicada Septendecim, Its Natural Enemies and the Means of Preventing its Injury, Together with a Summary of the Distribution of the Different Broods.Washington, D.C.:Government Printing Office.pp. 112–118.OCLC1039550735.Retrieved29 July2021– viaInternet Archive.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  9. ^Mint of Finland Issues Pehr Kalm Coin,Coin Update News
  10. ^"Uuden mantereen suomalainen tutkija USA:n kahden osavaltion kansalliskukka sai nimensä Pehr Kalmin mukaan Pehr vai Pietari Kalm?".Helsingin Sanomat(in Finnish). 19 June 2004.Retrieved2 September2019.Tutkimusmatkailija Pehr Kalm kuuluu kautta aikojen merkittävimpiin suomalaisiin. Vanhemmassa suomenkielisessä kirjallisuudessa hänet tunnetaan suomennetulla nimellä Pietari Kalm.
  11. ^Kuosmanen, Jukka (26 November 2015)."Pehr Kalm mittaa Niagaran putokset"(in Finnish).Yle.Retrieved2 September2019.... Maailmalta katsottuna Kalm on ylivoimaisesti tunnetuin suomalainen tutkimusmatkailija.
  12. ^Portin, Petter (6 March 2016)."Tutkimusmatkailija Pehr Kalmin syntymästä 300 vuotta"(in Finnish).University of Turku.Retrieved2 September2019.... suomalaisen luonnontutkijan ja tutkimusmatkailijan Pehr Kalmin...
  13. ^International Plant Names Index.Kalm.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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