Fredrik Hjalmar Adelborg (18 October 1886 – 21 September 1948) 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 ...

diplomat, director, explorer, donor and author.

Career

Adelborg was born at Öster-Malma Castle in Ludgo,

Södermanland County Södermanland County (, ) is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the southeast coast of Sweden. In the local Sörmlandic dialects it is virtually universally shortened and pronounced as Sörmlands län, or simply Sörmland, which is the ...

, Sweden, the son of captain Otto Adelborg and baroness Jacquette De Geer. He was the brother of Gustaf-Otto Adelborg and

Louise Adelborg Louise Nathalie Adelborg (2 July 1885 – 9 September 1971) was a Swedish porcelain designer and textile artist. Biography Louise Adelborg was born in Ludgo, Södermanland County, Sweden, a member of the noble Adelborg family. She was the daugh ...

. Adelborg was a sea cadet and attended the

Royal Swedish Naval Academy The Royal Swedish Naval Academy (, KSS) was a school for officer training for the Swedish Navy, which operated in various forms between the years 1756 and 1987. History 1683–1791 In 1683, when the charter was issued that "those who were propo ...

from 1901 to 1903 and served in the Merchant Navy and carried out two complete global circumnavigations. He completed

mate Mate may refer to: Science * Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in: ** Mate choice, intersexual selection *** Mate choice in humans ** Mating * Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins Pers ...

's examination and an examination in steam engine teaching at Stockholm Navigation School in 1907. He became a reserve under-lieutenant in the Swedish Navy in 1908 and was secretary to the vice consul at the Swedish consulate in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

from 1908 to 1909. He lived in the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...

from 1910 to 1934 where he was head of different rupper companies; Director Assistant of the Gali Rubber Company in

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

1910-11, Deputy CEO of the Gomali Rubber Company in

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

1911-12, CEO of the Lower Perak Rubber Company in

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

1912-16, Head of the Jendarata Rubber Company in

Teluk Anson Teluk Intan is a town in Hilir Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. It is the district capital, the largest town in the district and fourth largest town in the state of Perak with an estimated population of around 172,505, more than half of Hilir P ...

1916-21 and CEO and Head of the Siginting and Pelepak Valley Rubber Company in

Port Dickson Port Dickson (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ), colloquially referred to as PD, is a beach resort in Port Dickson District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. It is the second largest urban area in the state after Seremban, the state capital. The town's admi ...

from 1922. Adelborg undertook expeditions for the exploration of the

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its '' kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun ...

in the

from 1911 to 1929 and did extensive travels in the

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

. Adelborg conducted field trips to

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 ...

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

from 1910 to 1922. He donated large zoological collections to the

Swedish Museum of Natural History The Swedish Museum of Natural History (), in Stockholm, is one of two major museums of natural history in Sweden, the other one being located in Gothenburg. The museum was founded in 1819 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, but goes bac ...

in 1921. Adelborg was a delegate at the International Rubber Congress in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1921, Consul General of Sweden in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

from 1928 to 1934 and chief of staff of the International Committee for Non-Intervention in Spain from 1937 to 1939. He was head of the courier department at the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

from 1940. He was a member of the

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

and an associate of the Associate Incorporated Society of Planters. He was permanent member of the

Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography The Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography (SSAG; ) is a scientific learned society founded in December 1877. It was established after a rearrangement of various sections of the Anthropological Society, which was formed in 1873 by Hjalmar ...

Personal life

In 1916, he married the baroness Elisabeth Gyllenstierna af Lundholm (1894-1985), the daughter of the captain baron Carl Gyllenstierna and Malin Crafoord. Together they had one son, Anders Fredrik Adelborg (1917-1990). Adelborg died in 1948 and was buried at

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Burial Place" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Th ...

in Stockholm.

In popular culture

Fredrik Adelborg inspired

Evert Taube Axel Evert Taube (; 12 March 1890 – 31 January 1976) was a Swedish author, artist, composer and singer. He is widely regarded as one of Sweden's most respected musicians and the foremost troubadour of the Swedish ballad tradition in the 20th c ...

to the events in the ballad "Möte i monsunen" (Meeting in the monsoon), when he described to Taube how he had helped shanghaied Swedish sailors during his time as Consul General of Sweden in Singapore. In ballad he is named as the person helping Fritiof Andersson.

Awards

Adelborg's awards: *Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

1944 *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 ...

1921 *Knight of the Order of St John in Sweden *Commander of the

Order of the Dragon of Annam The Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam (, , ; 12 ngày của Ðức Bảo-Ðại tại Bắc-Kỳ. page 82. ) was created in 1886 in the city of Huế, by Emperor Đồng Khánh of the Imperial House of Annam, upon the "recommendation" of th ...

*Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

*Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Wahlberg Medal 1921

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adelborg, Fredrik 1886 births 1948 deaths Swedish explorers 20th-century travel writers Swedish travel writers Consuls-general for Sweden People from Nyköping Municipality Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Knights of the Order of Vasa Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen