The Linnéska institutet (''Linnaean Institute'') was a short-lived scientific society at
Uppsala University in the early 19th century. It has the distinction of being the first student society in Uppsala preoccupied with the natural sciences.
The society was founded in 1800 by a few students under the name ''Societas pro historia naturali'' ("Society for Natural History"), which was changed in 1802 to ''Zoophytolithiska sällskapet'' ("Zoophytolithic Society") and finally in 1807 to ''Linnéska institutet'' ("Linnaean Institute". The Linnaean disciple
Adam Afzelius, then ''botanices demonstrator'' (and later professor), was elected its president in 1802. At the time of its last change of name in 1807, done to celebrate the 100th anniversary of
Linnaeus' birth, the society had a memorial
medal made and published the only fascicle of ''Linnéska institutets skrifter'' ("Publications of the Linnaean Institute"); this issue, which was the only one ever published, was reprinted in an edition of
Johan Markus Hulth in 1906. Activities ceased in 1813.
Besides Afzelius, members or collaborators in the only issue of the journal included
Lars Herman Gyllenhaal
Baron Lars Herman Gyllenhaal (1790–1858) was a Swedish civil servant, politician, ''friherre'' and a Lord of the Realm.
Gyllenhaal was "president," in the Göta Court of Appeals 1836–1855, Prime Minister for Justice 1843–1844. Again chief ...
(later Swedish prime minister for justice), the geologist and mining engineer
Jacob Henrik af Forselles, the
palaeozoologist
Palaeozoology, also spelled as Paleozoology (Greek language, Greek: wikt:παλαιός, παλαιόν, ''palaeon'' "old" and wikt:ζῷον, ζῷον, ''zoon'' "animal"), is the branch of paleontology, paleobiology, or zoology dealing with the ...
Johan Wilhelm Dalman
Johan Wilhelm Dalman (November 4, 1787 in Hinseberg, Västmanland – July 11, 1828 in Stockholm) was a Swedish physician and a naturalist. He first studied at Christiansfeld in Schleswig-Holstein then at the University of Lund and the Univ ...
, the collector
Gabriel Marklin, the physician Carl Stenhammar (later a professor at
Karolinska Institutet), and the later civil servant and amateur naturalist Baron
Fredrik Anton Wrangel. Dalman, who was secretary of the society, had appreciated it as an unpretentious meeting place for informal discussions between students and teachers, but resented the pompous character it acquired with the change of name and the magnificent celebration of the Linnaean anniversary in 1807, which he likened to a funeral service for the society.
The remaining protocols and other papers of the society are kept in
Uppsala University Library.
References
Linnéska institutet in ''
Nordisk familjebok
''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...
''.
*Bertil Boëthius, "Dalman, Johan Wilhelm", ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', vol. 10, pp. 83–93.
1800 establishments in Sweden
Uppsala University
Carl Linnaeus
{{Sweden-stub