
Carl Johan Schönherr (10 June 1772 – 28 March 1848) 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 ...
entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
who revised the
taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
of
beetles
Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, Elytron, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, wit ...
, including
weevils.
Born in Stockholm, Schönherr was son of a German immigrant who had established himself as a silk manufacturer. At the age of nineteen, he took over the business together with his mother and developed it into a considerable size, with about 200 workers. In 1805, he entered partnership with Erik Lundgren, and in 1811 he sold the business to him, while retiring to his manor
Sparresäter in
Lerdala outside
Skara
Skara is a locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18,580 inhabitants in 2013. Despite its small size, it is one of the oldest cities in Sweden, and has a long educational and ecclesiastical history. On ...
in
Västergötland
Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden.
Vä ...
, where he died in 1848.
Schönherr had taken an interest in entomology since the age of twelve and was later further stimulated through his friendship with
Gustaf Johan Billberg
Gustaf Johan Billberg (14 June 1772, Karlskrona – 26 November 1844, Stockholm) was a Swedish botanist, zoologist and anatomist, although professionally and by training he was a lawyer and used science and biology as an avocation. The plant g ...
, his brother-in-law from his second marriage.
[Bengt Ehnström, "Schönherr, Carl Johan", ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', vol. 31, p. 755.]
He was an eminent coleopterist co-operating with
Carl Henrik Boheman
Carl Henrik Boheman (10 July 1796 – 2 November 1868) was a Swedish entomologist.
Boheman studied at Lund University and trained as an officer, participating in the invasion of Norway in 1814. He had been an enthusiastic entomologist since chil ...
and
Leonard Gyllenhaal
Leonard Gyllenhaal (3 December 1752 – 13 May 1840) was a Swedish military officer and entomologist.
Born on the Ribbingsberg manor in Västergötland in west Sweden, Leonard Gyllenhaal was son of an army officer and belonged to a family of ...
. Schönherr wrote . Paris, Roret. (1833-1845) in which many new species were described.
Schönherr was elected a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1809.
Several species have been named in his honour including;
Eupholus schoenherrii
''Eupholus schoenherri'' is a species of beetle belonging to the family Curculionidae. ''Eupholus petitii'' is sometimes included here as a subspecies.
Description
''Eupholus schoenherri'' can reach a length of about . The basic colour of thi ...
Notes
References
* Ehnström, Bengt, "Schönherr, Carl Johan", ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', vol. 31, p. 754-757.
External links
ZoologicaGöttingen State and University Library
The Göttingen State and University Library (german: Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen or SUB Göttingen) is the library for Göttingen University as well as for the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and is the state ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoenherr, Carl Johan
1772 births
1848 deaths
18th-century Swedish businesspeople
19th-century Swedish educators
Swedish entomologists
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Swedish people of German descent
Scientists from Stockholm
19th-century Swedish scientists