Johannes Frederik Johnstrup (12 March 1818– 31 December 1894) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

professor,

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

and

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

. He was the founder of the Danish scientific periodical ''

Meddelelser om Grønland ''Meddelelser om Grønland'' ("''Communications on Greenland''") is a Danish scientific periodical which publishes scientific results from all fields of research on Greenland. It was established by Frederik Johnstrup and published as a single ser ...

''.

Biography

Johnstrup was born at Christianshavn,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. He attended the

Technical University of Denmark The Technical University of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's fir ...

where he received

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1844. He became an associate professor of mineralogy and natural science at

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy ( Danish, ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated b ...

in 1846. When the academy closed in 1848, he became assistant lecturer in

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...

. Three years later, he taught in

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

and in 1866, he became professor of mineralogy and geology at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

and the Polytechnic Institution. Johnstrup made several geological exploration voyages; 1871 and 1876 in Iceland, 1872 in the Faroe Islands and 1874 in Greenland. In 1876, he led the expedition to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

to study

Askja Askja () is an active volcano situated in a remote part of the central highlands of Iceland. The name Askja refers to a complex of nested calderas within the surrounding Dyngjufjöll mountains, which rise to , ''askja'' meaning ''box'' or '' ...

and the volcanoes at

Mývatn () is a shallow lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland, not far from Krafla volcano. It has a high amount of biological activity. The lake and the surrounding wetlands provides a habitat for a number of waterbirds, e ...

with

Þorvaldur Thoroddsen Þorvaldur Thoroddsen (6 June 1855 – 28 September 1921) was an Icelandic geologist and geographer. Biography Þorvaldur was the son of the writer Jón Thoroddsen. He graduated from the Learned School of Reykjavík in 1875 and then immediately ...

(1855–1921) as his guide. In 1878, with Heinrich Rink, Johnstrup founded the governmental institution, Commission for the Direction of Geological and Geographical Investigations in Greenland. He was the founder of the scientific periodical ''Meddelelser om Grønland'' which was established in 1878. In 1888, he led the Geological Survey of Denmark. In 1893, He developed the

University of Copenhagen Geological Museum The Geological Museum was a geology museum on Øster Voldgade, at the northeast corner of the University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Like the botanical garden, the museum was part of the wider array of centers belongin ...

, and led the construction of a new building on Øster Voldgade in Copenhagen. Johnstrup authored a number of treatises by which he greatly promoted the understanding of Denmark's geological conditions, particularly the glacial phenomena. In 1894, he became an honorary doctorate at the University. In 1892 became a Commander First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog.

References

1818 births 1894 deaths People from Copenhagen Danish geologists Danish paleontologists Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen Technical University of Denmark alumni Academic staff of the Technical University of Denmark Commanders First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog {{paleontologist-stub