Christopher Tärnström or Christoffer Tärnström (20 May 1711 – 4 December 1746) was a Swedish naturalist and Lutheran pastor who was the first of the students or

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

who travelled to Southeast Asia where he died off Vietnam. A plant genus ''

Ternstroemia ''Ternstroemia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Pentaphylacaceae. It is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

and became interested in natural history, accompanying

Carl von Linné Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organi ...

(1707-1778) on field trips. In 1739, he wrote a thesis on the history of the

Åland Islands Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

and became ordained as a pastor. He taught at

Östhammar Östhammar is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Östhammar Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 4,534 inhabitants in 2010. Today Östhammar Municipality is a part of Uppsala County, but the area has historically been a part of ...

in the fall of 1739 and at

Vaxholm Vaxholm is a city, urban area and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It occupies the islands of Vaxön and Kullö in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Fortress, which was constructed in 154 ...

from 1741 to 1743. He also received a degree in philosophy in 1745. Encouraged by Linné and with the prospects of travel and natural history collection, he joined the

Swedish East India Company The Swedish East India Company (; SOIC) was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with India, China and the Far East. The venture was inspired by the success of the Dutch East India Company and the British Ea ...

as a chaplain. In 1746, he boarded the ''Calmar'' to Canton. He collected botanical specimens along the route. The ship was held up by the monsoon and Tärnström fell ill and died on the island of Pulo Condore ( Con-Dao). Linnaeus had asked him to obtain a tea tree and a goldfish among other things. He sent no collections and following his death, his diary was returned to Sweden and published in 1746. Linnaeus described the domestic fowl as ''Phasianus gallus'' and gave the location as Pouli candor, based on the notes of Tärnström. Tärnström married Sara Christina Schick in 1739, but she died in 1741. In 1742, he married Brigitta Stenhof. Two children and his widow survived him. The reaction of his widow made Linnaeus subsequently choose only unmarried apostles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tärnström, Christopher 1711 births 1746 deaths