Gustaf von Paykull

Gustaf of Paykull ( born August 21, 1757 Stockholm, † January 28, 1826 on the estate Wallox - Saby in Uppland ) was a Swedish baron ( in about a Baron) and an expert on ornithology and entomology.

His parents were the 1756 nobelierte in Sweden Artillery Major Karl Friedrich Paykull and his wife Beate Charlotte simming.

He was clerk in the Foreign Office in 1779, In 1781 he was secretary copier and 1783 Protocol. In 1794 he was already first Sekräter and 1796 Deputy Director. In 1815 he also received the title of marshal.

From a young age he was trying to be a poet and was with a group called Utile Dulci. He also published a translation of Anacreon Sappho, Bion, Moschus and Musaeus. He also published some comedies but that did not satisfy him, so he turned to the natural sciences.

On his estate Wallox - Saby it creates a natural history museum, whose collection of birds and insects was one of the largest in Scandinavia. He had intensive contacts with colleagues at home and abroad. He was a member of several scientific academies, and also of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences from 1791, and founder of the American Museum of Natural riksmuseet in Stockholm. In recognition his achievements he was awarded in 1818 in addition to the Barons title.

On 24 March 1819 he donated his collection to the Swedish king, and gave the Academy the order to find a suitable building. The transportation of the shipment was an adventure in itself, a caravan of horse-drawn wagons, the stuffed camels, zebras, snakes and other animals transported. The event was held for a number of contemporary paintings.

Family

He was married three times. 1790 Frein Anna Elisabet Ehrensvard, his first wife. In 1795 he married Johanna Möller and Anna Katarina 1807 Sandels.

Publications (selection)

• Domald, 1783, a tragedy, digitized

• Fauna Suecica. Insecta, Coleoptera. Upsala: Edman 3 volumes. ( 3 volumes, 1798,1799,1800 ) Band 1, Band 2, Band 3
• Monographia Staphylinorum Sueciae 1789 digitized
• Monographia Caraborum Sueciae 1790 digitized
• Monographia Curculionum, 1792
• Tal om djur - Kännedomens historia, 1794, digitized

Paykull 's collection is in the Swedish Museum of Natural History.