Johan Peter Falk (26 November 1732 – 31 March 1774) was a Swedish botanist and an

apostle of Carl Linnaeus An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

. His first name is sometimes spelled "Johann"; his middle name is sometimes spelled "Pehr"; and his surname is sometimes spelled "Falck". The genus ''

Falkia ''Falkia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, native to southern Africa, eastern Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. They are creeping perennial herbs. Species Currently accepted species include: *'' Falkia canescens'' ...

'' is named for him.

Biography

Falk was born in the parish of Broddetorp in

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

, Sweden. He was the son of Peter Falck (1701–1754) and his wife Beata Winge (1706–1771). He studied at the

University of Uppsala Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance durin ...

under

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

as served as a tutor for his son,

Carl Linnaeus the Younger Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Carolus Linnaeus the Younger, Carl von Linné den yngre (Swedish; abbreviated Carl von Linné d. y.), or ''Linnaeus filius'' ( Latin for ''Linnaeus the son''; abbreviated L.fil. (outdated) or L.f. (modern) as a botani ...

. He defended his dissertation in 1762. Falk traveled to Russia and in 1763 and became Curator for the Cabinet of Natural History in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In 1765, Falck was appointed Professor in medicine and botany at the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

. He participated in the expedition to the central Russian province of

Povolzhye The Volga Region (russian: Поволжье, ''Povolzhye'', literally: "along the Volga") is a historical region in Russia that encompasses the drainage basin of the Volga River, the longest river in Europe, in central and southern European Russ ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

, Altay, and

Transbaikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykalye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal in Far Eastern Russia. The steppe and ...

(1768–1774) organised by the Prussian scientist

Peter Simon Pallas Peter Simon Pallas Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussian zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia between 1767 and 1810. Life and work Peter Simon Pallas was born in Berlin, the son ...

(1741–1811). Results were published in St. Petersburg at the Imperial Academy of Sciences. In 1774, Falk took his own life in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering ...

. Falk's notes were published in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

as ''Beyträge zur topgraphischen Kentniß des rußischen Reichs'' (3 volumes, 1785–1786). They were edited by

Johann Gottlieb Georgi Johann Gottlieb Georgi (31 December 1729 – 27 October 1802) was a German botanist, naturalist and geographer. A native of Pomerania, Georgi accompanied both Johan Peter Falk and Peter Simon Pallas on their respective journeys through Siberia ...

(1729–1802).

References

Literature

* Vera Shirokova, Alexey Sobisevich
''Illustrations from Academic Expeditions in Russia: The works of Falck and Georgi''
iLINNAEUS , iMagazine , iStories (December 2015) 18th-century Swedish botanists Swedish taxonomists 1732 births 1774 deaths 18th-century botanists from the Russian Empire Explorers from the Russian Empire Age of Liberty people Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Swedish nobility Uppsala University alumni Suicides by firearm in Russia {{Sweden-botanist-stub