Johannes Japetus Smith Steenstrup
FRS(For) H
FRSE (8 March 1813 – 20 June 1897) was a Danish
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...
,
biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
, and professor.
Life
Born in
Vang, Thy on 8 March 1813, he held a lectorate in mineralogy in
Sorø until 1845 when he became a professor of
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
at the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...
. He worked on a great many subjects, including
cephalopods, and also in
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
, where he discovered the principle of the
alternation of generations in some parasitic worms in 1842.
Steenstrup discovered (1842) the possibility of using the subfossils of the
Postglacial
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...
as a means of interpreting
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
s and correlated vegetation change, which he called
succession in the recent past. Two of Steenstrup's students,
Christian Vaupell and
Eugen Warming further developed this line of research.
Japetus Steenstrup was a professor to zoologist
Johan Erik Vesti Boas, who was also a student of zoologist
Carl Gegenbaur, and
Hans Christian Gram, inventor of the Gram stain.
[
"Biographical Etymology of Marine Organism Names. B"
(biographies of scientists with names beginning "B"),
Hans G. Hansson, TJärnö Marine Biological Laboratory,
Göteborg University and Stockholm University, ''TMBL.gu.se'' webpage:
]
TMBL-P-Etymol-B
During
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
's extensive study of
barnacles (Cirripedia) between 1846 and 1854, he corresponded with Steenstrup, who sent him both information and specimens. Darwin returned the specimens in 1854, and by way of thanks also sent Steenstrup a box of specimens, with a letter listing the 77 species of cirripedia he had enclosed as a gift. The specimens were dispersed in the
Natural History Museum of Denmark; in 2014 staff at the museum found the list, and were able to identify most of the specimens for a new exhibition of their best objects.
When Darwin published his series of monographs, he included notes acknowledging his debt to the kindness of Professor Steenstrup for sending him specimens of both modern and fossil barnacles.
Together with
Johan Lange, Steenstrup was the publisher of ''
Flora Danica'' fasc. 44.
In 1842, at the age of 29, he was elected a member of the
Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab.
[Jungersen, H.F.E. (1902). Steenstrup, Johannes Japetus Smith. in: ''Dansk biografisk lexikon'']
band XVI: p. 327
/ref> In 1857, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1862, he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
and in 1863 elected as member of the Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
.
He died on 20 June 1897 in Copenhagen.
References
* Steenstrup, J.J.S. (1842). Geognostisk-geologisk Undersögelse af Skovmoserne Vidnesdam- og Lillemose i det nordlige Sjelland, ledsaget af sammenlignende Bemærkninger hentede fra Danmarks Skov-, Kjær og Lyngmoser ialmindelighed. ''Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Naturvidenskabelige og Mathematiske Afhandlinger''
ser. 4, 9: 17–120
* Spärck, R. (1932). Japetus Steenstrup, pp. 115–119 in: Meisen, V. ''Prominent Danish Scientists through the Ages''. University Library of Copenhagen 450th Anniversary. Levin & Munksgaard, Copenhagen.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steenstrup, Japetus
1813 births
1897 deaths
Danish zoologists
Teuthologists
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)
Foreign Members of the Royal Society