Johannes Frederik Johnstrup (12 March 1818– 31 December 1894) was a Danish professor,

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and paleontologist. He was the founder of the Danish scientific periodical '' Meddelelser om Grønland''.

Biography

Johnstrup was born at Christianshavn,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. He attended the Technical University of Denmark where he received B.Sc. in 1844. He became an associate professor of

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

and

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

at Sorø Academy in 1846. When the academy closed in 1848, he became assistant lecturer in

Kolding Kolding () is a Denmark, Danish seaport city located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre and has numerous industria ...

. Three years later, he taught in Sorø and in 1866, he became professor of mineralogy and geology at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

and the Polytechnic Institution. Johnstrup made several geological exploration voyages; 1871 and 1876 in Iceland, 1872 in the Faroe Islands and 1874 in Greenland. In 1876, he led the expedition to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

to study Askja and the volcanoes at Mývatn with Þorvaldur Thoroddsen (1855–1921) as his guide. In 1878, with Heinrich Rink, Johnstrup founded the governmental institution, Commission for the Direction of Geological and Geographical Investigations in Greenland. He was the founder of the scientific periodical ''Meddelelser om Grønland'' which was established in 1878. In 1888, he led the Geological Survey of Denmark. In 1893, He developed the University of Copenhagen Geological Museum, and led the construction of a new building on Øster Voldgade in Copenhagen. Johnstrup authored a number of treatises by which he greatly promoted the understanding of Denmark's geological conditions, particularly the glacial phenomena. In 1894, he became an honorary doctorate at the university. In 1892 became a Commander First Class of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

References

1818 births 1894 deaths Scientists from Copenhagen 19th-century Danish geologists Danish paleontologists Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen Technical University of Denmark alumni Academic staff of the Technical University of Denmark Commanders First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog {{paleontologist-stub