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 of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

who travelled to Southeast Asia where he died off Vietnam. A plant genus '' Ternstroemia'' was dedicated to him by Linnaeus. Tärnström was born in Funbo in Uppsala to farmer Andreas and Margarethe Bille. He studied theology at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

and became interested in natural history, accompanying

Carl von Linné Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

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

Åland Islands Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populati ...

and became ordained as a pastor. He taught at

Östhammar Östhammar is a 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 Stockholm County. Hist ...

in the fall of 1739 and at

Vaxholm Vaxholm is a locality and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It is located on the island of in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Castle, which was constructed in 1549 on an islet with this nam ...

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 ( sv, Svenska Ostindiska Companiet or ''SOIC'') was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with China and the Far East. The venture was inspired by the success of the Dutch East ...

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