Cornelis Christiaan (Cees) Berg (1934–2012) was a Dutch botanist known for his work on the plant family

Moraceae The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...

Early life and education

Berg was born on 7 February 1934 in Bandung,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, then part of the Dutch East Indies, and later moved to Sumatra, near

Medan Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four mai ...

. During World War II, his father was conscripted, and died during the Japanese conquest. Berg was interned with his mother and brothers, and moved to a men's camp at the age of 10. Berg, his mother and siblings, all survived their internment, but his mother died of starvation shortly after. After the war, the orphaned siblings were raised with foster families in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He got his education in the Netherlands, where he went to the school of horticulture at Breda.

Career

From 1959 to 1966 he worked at some colleges and from 1960 to 1986 held several positions at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

. Later on he graduated from that university in 1962 and 1964 respectively with a Ph.D. in 1973. A year before he published his first work, a thesis called ''Studies in Moraceae'' which was printed in Flora Neotropica. On 11 November 1985 he became a director of the Norwegian Arboretum and the same day became professor of botany at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

. On 31 July 2005 he left it and on 1 September 2005 he became professor emeritus at

Bergen Museum The University Museum of Bergen ( no, Universitetsmuseet i 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 Univ ...

. From 18 December 2001 he also worked at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

, where he stayed till his death in 2012. During his life he published 151 papers on

plant species. Berg's doctoral students have included the linguist Johannes Cornelis Anceaux.Adelaar, K. A. (1989). ''In memoriam Johannes Cornelis Anceaux''. In: ''Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Rituals and Socio-Cosmic Order in Eastern Indonesian Societies.'' Teil 1, Nusa Tenggara Timur 145 (1989), No. 1, Leiden, 1–7
PDF
in Dutch).

Honours

'' Dorstenia bergiana'', a plant in the Moraceae, and '' Platyscapa bergi'', a

fig wasp Fig wasps are wasps of the superfamily Chalcidoidea which spend their larval stage inside figs. Most are pollinators but others simply feed off the plant. The non-pollinators belong to several groups within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, while the ...

, are named in honour of Berg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Cornelis Christiaan 1934 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Dutch botanists Utrecht University alumni Academic staff of the University of Bergen Academic staff of Leiden University People from Bandung