Jens Rathke (14 November 1769 – 28 February 1855) was a

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

's first professor of

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

Biography

Rathke was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Casper Elias Rathke (1729–1777) and Margaretha Madsdatter Schultz (1735–1812). He was a student at the Christiania Cathedral School until 1787. Rathke took

Cand.theol. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

in 1792, but soon left theology and began to study natural sciences. In 1810, he became a zoology professor at the University of Copenhagen, where he also taught lessons in botany and mineralogy. In 1813, he moved to the

University of Christiania The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

(now University of Oslo) as a professor of

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. He made several trips along the Norwegian coast from

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

Lofoten Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. T ...

to investigate the conditions of fisheries. He presented the results of these studies in '' Beiträge zur Fauna Norwegens, '' which was published in 1843. Upon his death, he bequeathed his estate, funding a trust (''Rathkes legat'') at the University of Oslo to use for study of Norway's natural conditions.

References

1769 births 1855 deaths Scientists from Oslo University of Copenhagen alumni Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen Academic staff of the University of Oslo 18th-century Norwegian scientists 19th-century Norwegian zoologists 18th-century Norwegian educators 19th-century Norwegian educators {{Norway-scientist-stub