Olof Immanuel Fåhræus (23 March 1796 – 28 May 1884), 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 ...

civil servant, politician and

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

mainly interested in

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

Biography

Fåhræus was born in Othem Parish,

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

. He entered

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 1810, where he graduated in 1815. He started a career as a civil servant in 1816 and spent most of that career in the Swedish General Customs Board, where he was head of the western customs district from 1826 to 1840. During this time he participated in two committees on customs reform, where Fåhræus voiced liberal views. In 1840, a new Swedish government was formed under

Arvid Mauritz Posse Arvid Mauritz Posse (5 January 1792 – 22 July 1850) was a Swedish politician, count and Marshal of the Realm, who served as Prime Minister for Justice in 1840 and between 1846 and 1848. Biography Posse was born into a noble family, as the son ...

, then director general of the Customs Board. He recruited Fåhræus as

Minister for Civil Service Affairs The Minister for Civil Service Affairs (), since 2010 called Minister for Public Administration, is a member of the Government of Sweden. The minister for civil service affairs was the head of the Ministry for Civil Service Affairs from 1840 to ...

, a post which he held from 1840 to 1847. In 1842 he was elevated to the nobility. In 1847, he asked to leave his post as minister and was succeeded by his twin brother

Fredrik Fåhræus Fredrik or Frederik is a masculine Germanic given name derived from the German name '' Friedrich'' or Friederich, from the Old High German ''fridu'' meaning "peace" and ''rîhhi'' meaning "ruler" or "power". It is the common form of Frederick in No ...

. Instead, Fåhræus served as Governor of

Gothenburg and Bohus County Gothenburg and Bohus County () was a county of Sweden until 1 January 1998, when it was merged with Skaraborg County and Älvsborg County to form Västra Götaland County. The county was named after the city of Gothenburg and the historical pr ...

from 1847 to 1864 and then as chairman of the board of the

Bank of Sweden Sveriges Riksbank, or simply the Riksbank, is the central bank of Sweden. Founded in 1668, it is the world's oldest surviving central bank, and the third oldest bank in continuous operation. Prior to World War I, it was also the only state- ...

from 1867 to 1872. He participated in meetings of the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates (; informally ) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Fou ...

, the Swedish parliament, from 1844 to 1866 as a member of the nobility. He was an elected member of the upper chamber of the reformed

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

from 1867 to 1878. Fåhræus had an interested in the natural sciences since his youth, and was particularly interested in entomology. In 1833 he took the initiative to form the Gothenburg Museum of Natural History. His entomological collection is shared between the natural history museums of Stockholm and

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. Together with

Carl Henrik Boheman Carl Henrik Boheman (10 July 1796 – 2 November 1868) was a Sweden, Swedish entomologist. He collected specimens in Norway and became a curator of the Swedish museum of natural history and described numerous beetle species. Life and work Bohem ...

he authored ''Insecta Caffrariae annis 1838-1845 a J.A. Wahlberg collecta. Coleoptera''. Holmiae : Fritze & Norstedt Vol. 1 pp. 299–625 published in 1851. Fåhræus was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in 1840 and received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in 1877. He died in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fahraeus, Olof Immanuel 1796 births 1884 deaths 19th-century Swedish civil servants Government ministers of Sweden Governors of Gothenburg and Bohus County Members of the Första kammaren Members of the Riksdag of the Estates Swedish entomologists Uppsala University alumni Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala