Peter Ascanius (24 May 1723 – 4 June 1803) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

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 ance ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and

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, althou ...

. He was a professor of

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

Early life and education

He was born at Aure in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. In 1742 he graduated from Trondheim Cathedral School and attended the

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

where he studied medicine and took a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1747. From 1752 he stayed a couple of years at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) 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 opera ...

where he was a student of

Carl Linnaeus 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). He studied natural history with Linnaeus and chemistry and metallurgy with

Johan Gottschalk Wallerius Johan Gottschalk Wallerius (11 July 1709 – 16 November 1785) was a Swedish chemist and mineralogist. Biography Wallerius was born at Stora Mellösa in Närke (now Örebro County), Sweden. He was a son of provost Erik Nilsson Wallerius and hi ...

(1709–1785). Ascanius undertook a study trip in the years 1753 to 1758, visiting the Netherlands, England, France, Italy and Austria.

Career

After returning from his European study trip, in 1759 Ascanius was appointed professor of natural history at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

which was established at Charlottenborg at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1754. He taught

and

from 1759 to 1771. In 1768 he was sent on a research and collection trip along the Norwegian coast from Kristiansand to Bergen. In 1753, Ascanius visited the iron deposit Taberg in

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...

. In the years 1771–1776 he worked as a mining inspector at the silver mines in

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

. During the period 1776–1788, he was made a senior mining official (''Berghauptmann'') and was given responsibility for iron smelting and hammering at the

Kongsberg Silver Mines Kongsberg Silver works () was a mining operation at Kongsberg in Viken county in Norway. The town of Kongsberg is the site of the Norwegian Mining Museum (). History Operating from over 80 different sites, Kongsberg silver mines constituted th ...

and teaching at the

Kongsberg School of Mines Kongsberg School of Mines ( no, Det Kongelige Norske Bergseminarium, or Bergseminaret på Kongsberg, or Kongsberg bergseminar) was an academic institution for mining technology in Kongsberg, Norway from 1757 to 1814. History At the 1769 Census, K ...

Late life and death

Ascanius returned to Copenhagen in 1788. He died unmarried on 4 June 1803 and is buried in the crypt of Frederick's German Church in

Christianshavn Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...

Publications

Among his published works was the five-volume illustrated ''Icones rerum naturalium''. He was a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

, elected in 1755 as a Foreign Member.

References

External links