Robert Collett (2 December 1842 – 27 January 1913) 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 ...

zoologist 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 ...

. Collett was director and curator of the Zoological Museum at

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. Robert Collett was born at Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the eldest child of Professor Peter Jonas Collett (1813–51) and

Camilla Collett Jacobine Camilla Collett (née Wergeland; 23 January 1813 – 6 March 1895) was a Norwegian writer, often referred to as the first Norwegian feminist. She was also the younger sister of Norwegian poet Henrik Wergeland, and is recognized as bein ...

(1813–95). His maternal uncles included

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

and

Henrik Wergeland Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland (17 June 1808 – 12 July 1845) was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist. He is often described as a leading pioneer in the develop ...

, and his paternal uncles included

Peter Severin Steenstrup Peter Severin Steenstrup (29 November 1807 – 17 February 1863) was a Norwegian naval officer and businessperson. He was the son of Constitutional founding father and businessman Poul Steenstrup and Thea Collett.Alf Collett Alf Collett (8 August 1844 – 12 June 1919) was a Norwegian writer and historian.Robert Collett
University of Oslo He attended the Latin School in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

and was a fellow in zoology at the

. From 1864 he was curator at the Zoological Museum in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. In 1882 he became its director and was appointed professor in 1885. He worked with vertebrates, primarily fishes. He described many new species of fish, spiders and other organisms. A popular book ''Norges pattedyr'' written by him was on the mammals of Norway. This book was to influence

Charles Elton Charles Elton may refer to: *Charles Elton (Born, 1993) Professional Rugby Player for Otago Rugby * Charles Isaac Elton (1839–1900), English lawyer, politician, writer and antiquarian * Charles Sutherland Elton (1900–1991), English biologist ...

to study the periodic fluctuations in animal populations. The work by Elton on animal fluctuations, particularly those of lemmings challenged the idea that there was a balance in nature. Collett is commemorated in the scientific names of two species of reptiles: '' Ctenotus colletti'' and ''

Pseudechis colletti Collett's snake (''Pseudechis colletti''), also commonly known as Collett's black snake, Collett's cobra, or Down's tiger snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Australia. Although Collett's snake i ...

''. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Collett", p. 56).

References

External links

Norges pattedyr

Norwegian Biographical Dictionary (in Norwegian)

The family tree of Robert Collett on Geni.com
1842 births 1913 deaths Norwegian people of English descent 19th-century Norwegian zoologists Norwegian curators Norwegian ichthyologists

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Commanders of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Scientists from Oslo {{zoologist-stub

See also

References

External links