Daniel Rolander

Daniel Rolander (* 1723 in Hälleberga, Småland, † August 10 1793 in Lund ) was a Swedish naturalist and student of Carl Linnaeus.

Life

Little is known about Daniel Rolanders parents, it is believed that his father was a farmer. He attended elementary school and high school in Växjö (1736-1741) and from 1741 to 1754, the University of Uppsala. From 1744 onwards, Daniel Rolander was educated at the University of Uppsala in Carl Linnaeus. He never defended a dissertation, but published five entomological papers. At the beginning he was an expert in the field of entomology. Linnaeus must have been very impressed by the young man, for he also made ​​him the tutor of his son Carl.

In 1754 he gave him as a teacher for the children of the Swedish Lieutenant Colonel Carl Dahlberg on its plantations in Surinam. However on the journey there, he fell ill. It was only in April 1755, he was so far recovered that he could dare to travel to South America. There he met a June 20, 1755. From Paramaribo from he roamed the area. A dangerous undertaking, tropical diseases and a war with runaway slaves made ​​the area unsafe. That and his deteriorating health prompted to leave in the end Surinam again. Given the amount of collected specimens, whose variety he himself was surprised, and scientific notes he seems to have hardly noticed his job as a tutor in those seven months. He embarked on 20 January 1756 reached on April 14, 1756 Texel. He came to Germany when he ran short of money. It took a while before the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences sent him money and he reached in October 1756 Stockholm, where he, for example, gave parts of his collection three copies of the coveted Linnaeus Quassia amara on his patron. The fact that Linnaeus named the plant after the Negro slave named Quassia who had sold the secret to their skills as bitters or fever remedies to Rolander for a certain sum, Dahlberg said to have angered the hoped the fame for themselves.

Linnaeus wanted to all his samples and research results from Surinam see, but what Rolander refused him. To be conflict began with Linnaeus. So much so that Linnaeus after a few months broke into the room of Rolander and some specimens it particularly interesting steel. The resulting rift both scientists should never be overcome, which eventually Rolanders scientific career was sealed. Terry Breverton makes in his descriptions of it more of a scientific anecdote that Linnaeus partially takes into custody and was based on a chain of misunderstandings. Rolander have in the hope that Linnaeus would appoint a he had discovered interesting little beetle species that lived on Opuntia cactus after him, brought home to him. His teacher, however, was outside the home, whereupon Rolander leaving the living male and female specimens in confidence in the garden shed in a glass and one of her surroundings plants. Linnaeus gardener would, however, these destroyed in ignorance as alleged pests by taking the plant out of the container, so that the dirt and the insects away, and thus the beetles away with it. Linnaeus, who was keenly interested in these specimens themselves, then protected by a migraine before and Rolander was beside himself: the species that may Dactylopius would rolander can say is today say the Cochenilleschildlaus called Dactylopius coccus, ,.

1757 Rolander curator of the garden at the Seraphim Hospital in Stockholm. The position was not academically and also not provided for an entomologist, as the saw itself Rolander. In Germany its journey and its results published in 1758 was nevertheless an appreciation. In 1761 he left the post, actually to become a professor in Stockholm, but this was thwarted by Linnaeus. He instead went to Denmark to try his luck. Again he was unsuccessful, but he sold his samples and records to the Danish biologists and physicians Christian Friis Rottbøll. Rottbøll sifted the material and published more than 40 descriptions. Rolanders documents disappeared in the archives of the Botanical Library of the Danish Museum of Natural History, the 700 pages of his notes, which were written in a difficult Latin, and his collection was scattered across different collections. The value of his records in South America was achieved through the researches of Alexander von Humboldt in the 19th century.

Rolander was in 1765 returned to Sweden. With the help of some friends he could sit in Lund to rest. Other claims that he died alone in the workhouse.

Him a genus of Vernonieae was later named in honor of, in former times one living in South America and the West Indies beetle.

Rolanders manuscript

The manuscript purchased by Christian Friis Rottbøll is written 699 pages long and in Latin. Part of the text was in 1811 surinamense as a diary, published quod sub ​​itinere exotico conscripsit Daniel Rolander. James Dobreff - a Latin expert at the University of Lund - developed with its employees an English translation, with the help of the private foundation IK Foundation no later than 2008 as The Linnaeus Apostles - Global Science & Adventure: to be published Rolander Daniel 's Journal. According to New Scientist, the publication was imminent by Lars Nansen. Dobreff currently also working on a historical-critical edition of the Latin original text. The editors were impressed even before the publication of the accurate Very detailed scientific descriptions Rolanders and lifted its scientific ranking forth, taking his contemporaries as an equal opposite proved: " Rolander in his diary Proved he was a well -prepared and skilled biologist. His perspicacity and knowledge of the literature available at his time permitted him to Recognize Correctly several undescribed species, in addition to the others he had so classified Usually in agreement to the published works of pre - Linnaean authors, Linnaeus himself, and contemporaries. "

Aphanus rolandri

1768 Linnaeus named the little beetle Aphanus rolandri by Daniel Rolander. Aphanus called in German about as much as " unimpressive ".

Source Edition

• Lars Hansen ( ed.): The Linnaeus Apostles. Global Science & Adventure - Europe, North - South America. Volume Three, Book Three. Pehr Loefling, Daniel Rolander. IK Foundation, London 2008, ISBN 978-1-904145-20-2.