Axel Gudbrand Blytt (19 May 1843 – 18 July 1898) was a Norwegian professor,

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

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, ...

. He was the author of a number of books regarding the flora of Norway. Today he is most associated with his role in developing the Blytt-Sernander theory of climatic change.

Biography

Blytt was born in Kristiania (now

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

), Norway. He was the son of Matthias Numsen Blytt (1789–1862) and Ambrosia Henriksen (1822–1900). His father was a noted professor of

botany 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 ...

at The Royal Frederick University (now University of Oslo). He graduated

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 ...

from Royal Frederick University in 1860. After the death of his father in 1862, he continued his father's work with Norwegian

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

. Axel Blytt served with the Christiania Herbarium at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

from 1865, first as a conservator, then from 1880 as a professor. In 1869, he was awarded the Crown Prince's gold medal (''Kronprinsens gullmedalje''). Based partly on his father's work, he published ''Norges Flora'' in two volumes during 1874 and 1876. His work
''Essay on the Immigration of Norwegian Flora''
(1876) was read by and influenced

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

. He died in Oslo during 1898. His wor
''Haandbog i Norges flora''
was completed and published posthumously by botanist

Ove Dahl Ove Christian Dahl (29 January 186217 September 1940) was a Norwegian botanist. He was born in Orkdal Municipality. He graduated in philology from the University of Kristiania in 1886, and then worked as a teacher. His interests eventually turn ...

during 1906.

Legacy

Blyttberget, a high

crag Crag may refer to: * Crag (climbing), a cliff or group of cliffs, in any location, which is or may be suitable for climbing * Crag (dice game), a dice game played with three dice * Crag, Arizona, US * Crag, West Virginia, US * Crag and tail, a ...

southeast of

Nordlaguna Nordlaguna is a lagoon on the island of Jan Mayen. It is the second largest lake of Jan Mayen, after Sørlaguna, and is located in the central part of the island, near the bay of Stasjonsbukta. It was possibly formed by an eruption of Beerenber ...

on the Norwegian island of

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norway, Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: la ...

, is named for him. The German botanist

Wilhelm Schimper Georg Heinrich Wilhelm Schimper in Amharic sources known as Sambar (2 August 1804 – October 1878) was a German botanist and naturalist who spent more than forty years in Ethiopia collecting specimens of plants, mainly in Semien, the Tekeze ...

named several mosses after him as well. The remaining existent specimens Blytt collected on his studies are held at the Botanical Museum of the

. The

Buffalo Museum of Science The Buffalo Museum of Science is a science museum located at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Buffalo, New York, United States, northeast of the downtown district, near the Kensington Expressway. The historic building was designed by August E ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

also holds a collection of specimens attributed to a collector identified as "Blytt", who is likely Axel Blytt. This is evidenced by Charles Peck, the New York State Botanist from 1883 to 1913, in his 1872 ''Report of the Botanist'' to the New York Senate. Peck wrote that he had received 22 specimens of lichens from the University of Norway, Christiana (Oslo), Norway, for the New York State Cabinet. There is also a mention of Blytt in correspondence between the Swiss botanist

Leo Lesquereux Charles Léo Lesquereux (November 18, 1806 – October 25, 1889) was a Swiss-born bryologist and a pioneer of American paleobotany who studied the formation of peat bogs. Career Lesquereux was born in the town of Fleurier, located in the canto ...

and George W. Clinton, then President of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, regarding specimens and a visit to the Buffalo Museum by Lesquereux. Though the existing correspondence only provides Lesquereux's letters, he refers to Blytt as "a good Norwegian Botanist I do not know his address in any other way than as you write it. Christiania Norway."Eckel, P.M. (Oct. 2005) Correspondence of Leo Lesquereux and G. W. Clinton. Vol. 3. No. 51 178''Res Botanica.'' Missouri Botanical Garden. Axel_Blytt

Selected works

''Botanisk Reise i Valders og de tilgrændsende Egne''
1864
Om Vegetationsforholdene ved Sognefjorden''
1869
''Vore beste spiselige Soparter''
1869
''Christiania Omegns Phanerogamer og Bregner''
1870
''Spiselige Lavarter''
1870
''Norges Flora. Andel og tredie Del''
2 volumes, 1874–76
''Haandbog i Norges flora''
(completed and published by

), 1906

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blytt, Axel Gudbrand 1843 births 1898 deaths Scientists from Oslo University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian educators Norwegian geologists 19th-century Norwegian botanists Botanists with author abbreviations Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

Biography

Legacy

Selected works

Related reading

References