Conrad Quensel (10 December 1767 – 22 August 1806) 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 ...

naturalist.

Biography

Quensel was born at Åsbo in

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...

, Sweden. He was the son of Jakob Quensel (1724-1802) and Ulrika Benedikta Billberg (1739-1806). His father was a rector at

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

and later senior clerk in the parish of Ausås. He was named after his grandfather, noted astronomer Conrad Quensel (1676-1732). In 1789, Quensel became a student at the

University of Lund , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

in 1787. In 1789 he undertook a study trip to Lappland, where he described several new species of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s. Starting from 1791, he was an employee of the Botanic Garden at the University of Uppsala. In 1797 he became a

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

and after 1798 he became Director of the Natural Cabinet ('' Naturkabinetts'') at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) 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 ...

in Stockholm. Later he became a

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and natural history teacher at the

Military Academy Karlberg Military Academy Karlberg ( sv, Militärhögskolan Karlberg, MHS K) is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm. It is thus the oldest military academ ...

, where he received in 1805 the title of professor. Quensel wrote the largest part of the text of the first four volumes of the book ''Svensk Botanik'' (1802–1843) with copper plates by

Johan Wilhelm Palmstruch Johan Wilhelm Palmstruch (3 March 1770 – 30 August 1811) was a soldier, artist and naturalist. Palmstruch was born in Stockholm and died at Vänersborg in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. Palmstruch was a Swedish military officer who served ...

(1770–1811). He also wrote the text of the first volume of ''Svensk Zoologi'' (1806–1809) and parts of . Leonardo Gyllenhal, C. H. Boheman; et entomologis aliis illustratae'' by

Carl Johan Schönherr Carl Johan Schönherr (10 June 1772 – 28 March 1848) was a Swedish entomologist who revised the taxonomy of beetles, including weevils. Born in Stockholm, Schönherr was son of a German immigrant who had established himself as a silk manufact ...

(1772–1848). Conrad Quensel died at age 38 at

Karlberg Palace Karlberg Palace () is a palace by the Karlberg Canal in Solna Municipality in Sweden, adjacent to Stockholm's Vasastaden district. The palace, built in 1630,Solna: Huvudsta today houses the Military Academy Karlberg. In the palace park are foun ...

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of t ...

References

External links

''Svensk botanik''

''Svensk zoologi''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quensel, Conrad 1767 births 1806 deaths People from Scania Lund University alumni Swedish civil servants Swedish entomologists Swedish educators