Carl Gustaf Ekeberg (10 June 1716 – 4 April 1784) was a Swedish physician, chemist and explorer. He made several voyages to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

as a sea captain. He brought back reports of the

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

tree and wrote a number of books.

Biography

Ekeberg was born at

Djursholm Djursholm () is one of four suburban districts in, and the seat of Danderyd Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. Djursholm is included in the multi-municipal Stockholm urban area. Djursholm is divided into a number of different areas: Djursho ...

Uppland Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The name literally ...

, Sweden. He was the son of Gustaf Ekeberg and Catharina Ebba Fast. He was a student 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 ...

for three years (1726–1729); pharmacy student at

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

(1730–1736); provisor in the pharmacy at

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

(1737–1738). Trained as a pharmacist and chemist, Ekeberg started his career as a ship's doctor, and became an expert navigator. Between 1742 and 1778 he made ten trips to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

, becoming a captain in 1750 for the

Swedish East India Company The Swedish East India Company (; SOIC) was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with India, China and the Far East. The venture was inspired by the success of the Dutch East India Company and the British Ea ...

. He brought back numerous natural history specimens from his voyages for

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, with whom he had a close friendship. Swedish ships from 1750 avoided calling at

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, preferring to reprovision in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and

St. Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

. Ekeberg though, was on good terms with the Cape governor, Rijk Tulbagh, and called on him when visiting the Cape. He was an excellent cartographer, compiling good maps of the coastlines along which he sailed, publishing them in his book ''Ostindisk Resa 1770-71'' (Stockholm 1773). Ekeberg was also responsible for having

Anders Erikson Sparrman Anders Sparrman (27 February 1748 – 9 August 1820) was a Swedish Natural history, naturalist, abolitionism, abolitionist and an Apostles of Linnaeus, apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Biography file:Anders Sparrman miniatyr.jpg, left, Portrait miniat ...

, whom he had met on a voyage to Canton in 1765, sent to the Cape in 1772 to take up a tutoring post. He 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 1761. He was elected a Fellow of the Swedish Academy of Science in Stockholm and a Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

in 1777. In 1779, he was honoured by the naming of a

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

of plants from Africa, '' Ekebergia'', which contains 4 species of plant.

Personal life

In 1744, he married Hedvig Erlant (1719-1809). At the beginning of the 1760s, Ekeberg purchased three farms which he brought together to form Altomta gård in the parish of Tensta. Ekeberg adopted a boy whom was named Pehr Philander from the island

Nias Nias (, Nias: ''Tanö Niha'') is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago () of which the island is the centre, but also includes the Batu Islands to the southeast and the small ...

that he bought at a market in Canton. He died during 1784 at Altomta. He was buried at Tensta Church (''Tensta kyrka'') in

Uppsala County Uppsala County () is a county or '' län'' on the eastern coast of Sweden, whose capital is the city of Uppsala. It borders the counties of Dalarna, Stockholm, Södermanland, Västmanland, Gävleborg, and the Baltic Sea. Province The nor ...

, Sweden.

Selected works

*''Voyages aux Grandes-Indes dans les années 1770 et 1771'' (''Ostindisk Resa 1770-71''),

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 ...

, 1773 *''Moyen facile d'inoculer la petite vérole, écrit qui popularisa la pratique de l'inoculation''

References

External links

Carl Gustav Ekeberg and the invention of Chinese export painting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekeberg, Carl Gustaf 1716 births 1784 deaths People from Danderyd Municipality Uppsala University alumni 18th-century Swedish physicians Swedish East India Company people Swedish explorers Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Knights of the Order of Vasa Sea captains

Biography

Personal life

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links