Knut Fægri (17 July 1909 – 10 December 2001) was a Norwegian

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and palaeoecologist. Fægri was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. He was the son of Major Ole A. Fægri (1875–1962) and Gudrun Stoltz (1881–1940) and the nephew of the botanist, natural scientist, and politician Jørgen Brunchorst (1862–1917).

Academic career

Fægri received his ''

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

'' at the Bergen Cathedral School in 1926 and received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1934 with the thesis ''Über die Längenvariationen einiger Gletscher des Jostedalsbre und die dadurch bedingten Pflanzensukzessionen''. He was hired as a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

at the Chr. Michelsen Institute, was appointed professor at

Bergen Museum The University Museum of Bergen () is a university museum in Bergen, Norway. The museum features material related to anthropology, archaeology, botany, geology, zoology, art, and cultural history. History The University Museum of Bergen was fo ...

in 1946 and from 1948 jointly at the museum and the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

. He retired in 1979. He was also editor-in-chief of the periodical '' Naturen'' between 1947 and 1977.

Societal engagement

Fægri was much engaged in discussions of social issues of broad public interest. He was outspoken in his criticism of the negative effects of

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development on nature and

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

. He often had controversial views. For example, in the 1960s he agitated for a liberal act on use of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

, which he saw as something the state should leave to the individual citizen to decide about. Privately, he was a proponent of

naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

and he appeared naked in a discussion on that topic broadcast on

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Honours

Fægri was named an honorary doctor at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () 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 operation. Initially fou ...

in 1977, received the Millennium Botany Award in 1999,XVI International Botanical Congress 1-7 August 1999, Saint Louis: SUMMARY REPORT
/ref> and was named Commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1979.

Personal life

Fægri married the museum director Nancy Meyer (1912–2007) in 1941. Their son Knut Fægri Jr. became a chemistry professor.

Selected bibliography

This is a list of Fægri's most notable works: *''Über die Längenvariationen einiger Gletscher des Jostedalsbre und die dadurch bedingten Pflanzensukzessionen'' (1934) *''Quartärgeologische Untersuchungen im westlichen Norwegen I-II'' (1935–40) *''Studies on the Pleistocene of Western Norway III-IV'' (1943–49) *''Text-Book of Modern Pollen Analysis'' (4 editions 1950–1989, with Johannes Iversen) *''Norges planter I'' (1958) *''Norges planter II'' 1960) *''The Distribution of Norwegian Vascular Plants: Coast Plants'' (1960) *''The Principles of Pollination Ecology'' (1966, with the Dutch botanist Leendert van der Pijl) *''Krydder (1966)'' *''Dikteren og hans blomster'' (1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faegri, Knut 1909 births 2001 deaths People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School 20th-century Norwegian botanists Norwegian ecologists Norwegian botanical writers Academic staff of the University of Bergen Palynologists Scientists from Bergen Presidents of the International Union of Biological Sciences