Thorild Wulff (born 1 April 1877 in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
; died late August or early September 1917 in Northwest
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
) was a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
and
polar explorer
This list is for recognised pioneering explorers of the polar regions. It does not include subsequent travelers and expeditions.
Polar explorers
* Jameson Adams
* Stian Aker
* Valerian Albanov
* Roald Amundsen
* Salomon August Andrée
* Piotr F ...
.
Career
He obtained his
doctorate degree
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
from
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion [Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...]
-
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n
geodesy
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
expedition to
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
.
[ Contains four parts: I. Über die Transpiration der arktischen Gewächse; II. Über das Auftreten von Antocyan bei den arktischen Gewächsen; III. Der Polygonboden ( Kjellman's "Rutmark"); IV. Floristische Notizen]
Wulff was research assistant in horticulture ("Centralanstalten för försöksväsendet på jordbruksområdet") 1905–09,
docent
The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...
of botany at
Stockholm University College
Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, soci ...
1909–13. In 1911 he travelled 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 ...
with his friend the author
Albert Engström
Albert Engström (1869 – 1940) was a Swedish artist, author and member of the Swedish Academy from 1922. Albert Engström. ''sv.wikipedia.org''. Retrieved: June 27, 2013.
Author and Artist
Engström was born in Lönneberga, Kalmar County ( ...
who gave an account of the journey ("Åt Häcklefjäll" 1913).
He participated in the
Second Thule Expedition
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
led by
Knud Rasmussen from
Thule
Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek and Latin literature, Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shet ...
to
Cape Bridgman
Cape Bridgman ( da, Kap Bridgman) is a headland in the Wandel Sea, Arctic Ocean, northeast Greenland.
The cape was named by Robert Peary after Herbert L. Bridgman, one of the members of the Peary Arctic Club in New York.
Geography
Cape Bridg ...
in the northeastern corner of
Peary Land
Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the north ...
. On the return trip, the expedition suffered from bad weather and insufficient supplies, resulting in casualties, one of them being Wulff. He died from fatigue near
Cape Agassiz
Cape Agassiz is the east tip of Hollick-Kenyon Peninsula, a narrow ice-drowned spur extending east from the main mountain axis of the Antarctic Peninsula between Mobiloil Inlet and Revelle Inlet. The cape is the east end of a line from Cape Je ...
off the
Humboldt Glacier
Humboldt Glacier ( da, Humboldt Gletscher) is one of the major glaciers in northern Greenland.
The glacier is named after German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt and is the widest tidewater glacier in the Northern Hemisphere.
Geography
The Humb ...
.
Honours
The
Greenlandic plant species ''
Braya thorild-wulffii
''Braya thorild-wulffii'', the Greenland northern rockcress, is a plant species native to Greenland, Nunavut the Canadian Northwest Territories, and from the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of eastern Russia.
''Braya thorild-wulffii'' is an herb up to ...
'' (
Brassicaceae) was named after him in 1923. The
Wulff Land
Wulff Land ( da, Wulffs Land) is a peninsula in far northwestern Greenland. Administratively it is a part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.
History
Wulff Land was named after Swedish botanist and Arctic explorer Thorild Wulff (1867–19 ...
peninsula in Northern Greenland is similarly named for him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wulff, Thorild
20th-century Swedish botanists
Swedish explorers
1877 births
1917 deaths
Explorers of the Arctic
Academic staff of Stockholm University
Lund University alumni