Johan Theodor Holmskiold (14 June 1731 – 15 September 1793) was a
Danish noble,
botanist
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
, courtier and administrator.
He was noted for his scientific work with fungi and development of the Charlottenborg Botanical Garden. His career included work as director of the Danish Postal Services and the Royal Porcelain Factory.
Early life and career
Johan Theodor Holm was born in
Nyborg
Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,990 (2025). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of ...
on the Danish island of
Funen
Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...
as the oldest of eight children to Nicolai Holm and Cathrine Lucie née v. Lengerchen. He first trained with his father who was a surgeon before studying medicine 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.
...
, graduating in 1760.
During the last three years of his studies, from 1757 to 1761, he toured
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
with professor
Christen Friis Rottbøll
Christen Friis Rottbøll (3 March 1727, at Hørbygård, Denmark – 15 June 1797, in Copenhagen) was a Danish physician and botanist: He was a pupil of Carolus Linnaeus.
Early life
Rottbøll was born on the Hørbygaard estate at Holbæk, the ...
(1727-1797) who paid for his travels. They visited a number of universities in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and formed many close bonds with prominent colleagues. In
Leiden
Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, Holm collected specimens for a
herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...
which was later presented to the King as a gift.
In 1762, he became a professor in medicine and natural history at
Sorø Academy
Sorø Academy ( Danish: ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by ...
. There he founded a botanical garden before leaving the academy with a pension in 1765. At that point he also abandoned his medical career for good, instead turning to various administrative pursuits and his interest in botany.
Holmskiold
In 1767, Holm was appointed director general of the
Danish Postal Services in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, a position which he held until his death in 1793. From 1772, he also served as cabinet secretary for Dowager Queen
Juliana Maria, stepmother of King
Christian VII
Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. He was affected by mental illness and was only nominally king for most of his reign. His roya ...
.
Due to his good relations with the royal family, particularly the Queen, he was in the early 1770s, contacted by Frantz Heinrich Müller (1773–1801), a pharmacist and mineralogist who was setting up a porcelain factory. This led to the foundation of the
Royal Danish Porcelain Factory in 1775, with the King as a co-owner, Queen Juliana Maria as a protector and Holm as its first director-in-chief. In 1779, he took full control of the company and remained head of the factory for the rest of his life.
In 1778, he was appointed as one of two directors for the
new Charlottenborg Botanical Garden. It was created as a joint venture between the University of Copenhagen and the King, each of whom was to appoint a director. The first university appointment was
Christen Friis Rottbøll
Christen Friis Rottbøll (3 March 1727, at Hørbygård, Denmark – 15 June 1797, in Copenhagen) was a Danish physician and botanist: He was a pupil of Carolus Linnaeus.
Early life
Rottbøll was born on the Hørbygaard estate at Holbæk, the ...
, Holm's old teacher and travel companion from his student years, while the King chose Holm.
Holm advanced rapidly through the ranks and was ennobled under the surname of ''Holmskiold'' in 1781. On the same occasion, he was made a
Knight of the Order of the Danneborg and was given the title of
Geheimrat
was the title of the highest advising officials at the imperial, royal, or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in Ge ...
(''Gehejmeråd'').
Achievements as a naturalist
''Beata ruris otia fungis Danicis Impensa''
As a botanist, Holmskiold is remembered for his work ''Beata ruris otia fungis Danicis Impensa'' (1790-1796), a celebrated two-volume work on
fungi
A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
. The first volume was not published until 1790, and the second posthumously in 1796, but the work relies on the studies he conducted during the two years he spent in
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
after leaving Sorø Academy and prior to his employment with the Danish Postal Services. In Aarhus, Holmskiold had observed and documented the fungi he found and he also commissioned artist Johann Adolph Neander (1742-1766) to make detailed full-scale drawings of the specimens he collected and described.
Holmskjold's initial engagement with the postal services was most likely a fairly easy task which left him with sufficient time to work on his study of fungi. A first draft, at least of the first volume, was completed as early as 1770. It focused on ''
Agaricaceae
The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae.
Taxonomy
The family Agaricaceae was publishe ...
'', ''
Clavariaceae
The Clavariaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Originally the family contained most of the clavarioid fungi (club and coral fungi), but in its current sense is more restricted, albeit with a greater diversity of basidiocarp (frui ...
'' and ''
Discomycetes
Discomycetes is a former taxonomic class of Ascomycete fungi which contains all of the cup, sponge and brain fungi, and some club-like fungi. It includes typical cup fungi like the scarlet elf cup and the orange peel fungus, and fungi with frui ...
'', but Holmskiold was dissatisfied with the book and chose not to publish it at this stage, probably because he got distracted by other pursuits.
Among its 74 described specimens, ''Beata Ruris Otia Fungis Danicis Impensa'' contains 57 newly named fungi, five new combinations and 52 totally new taxa.
The work received particular appreciation for its renderings, prompting the Swedish botanist
Anders Jahan Retzius
Anders Jahan Retzius (3 October 1742 – 6 October 1821) was a Swedish chemist, botanist and entomologist.
Biography
Born in Kristianstad, he matriculated at Lund University in 1758, where he graduated as a filosofie magister in 1766. He also ...
(1742–1821) to call it "the most brilliant work which had appeared up to that time".
[ He went on to name a genus of flowering shrubs '' Holmskioldia'' in Holmskjold's honour. The ''Harvard University Herbaria'' describes the illustrations as "stunningly rendered, impeccably accurate, and beautiful illustrations.][
In 1776, Holdskjold became a member of the ]Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters ({{Langx, da, Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab or ''Videnskabernes Selskab'') is a Danish academy of science. The Royal Danish Academy was established on 13 November 1742, and was create ...
and published several articles in its various journals, including one on catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...
which relied on his observations in Sorø Lake during his years at Sorø Academy.
Illustrations from ''Beata Ruris Otia Fungis Danicis Impensa''
Image:Beata Ruris Otia Fungis Danicis Impensa 1.jpg, Illustration of '' Ramaria Corralloides Purpurea''
Image:Beata Ruris Otia Fungis Danicis Impensa 5.jpg, Illustration of '' Peziza Dichroa''
Image:Beata Ruris Otia Fungis Danicis Impensa 3.jpg, Illustration of '' Ramaria farinosa''
Image:Beata Ruris Otia Fungis Danicis Impensa 6.jpg, Illustration of '' Clavaria Mitrata''
Private life
In 1768, shortly after his appointment as general director of the Postal Services, Holmskiold built a country house on the shore of Lake Bagsværd
Lake Bagsværd is a lake in northeastern Zealand, Denmark. After Furesø (lake), Furesø, it is the second largest lake in the Mølleåen, Mølleå system. The lake is an appendix to the Mølleåen via Furå further on to Lyngby Lake.
The water ...
in Frederiksdal north of Copenhagen. He named it Sophienholm
Sophienholm is a former manor house and exhibition venue located north on the shore of Lake Bagsværd in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark.
The main building was originally a country home built in 1769 ...
after his fiancée Sophia Magdalena de Schrødersee (1746–1801). They married on 21 December 1770.
In 1782, the year after his ennoblement, he commissioned the architect Joseph Guione to build him a new and larger country house on a tract of land at the southern tip of Lake Bagsværd. The building, which became known as Aldershvile, was not completed until 1790. It was a white building with a hipped roof clad in blue-glazed tiles and was surrounded by a 12-hectare English-style landscaped garden with a canal system.
Johan Theodor Holmskiold died in 1793, not long after the completion of his new home. Royal historian Peter Frederik Suhm
Peter Frederik Suhm (18 October 1728 – 7 September 1798), was a Danish historian.
Biography
Suhm studied at the University of Copenhagen from 1746 to 1751, and one of his teachers was Ludvig Holberg. In 1749 he translated a comedy of Plautu ...
(1728–1798), wrote an epitaph in Latin about him. It turned out that he was heavily indebted and that he was guilty of embezzlement against both the Queen, the Postal Services and the Royal Porcelain Factory. The Aldershvile estate was subsequently sold to Adolph Ribbing
{{Infobox noble, type
, name = Adolph Ribbing
, title = Count
, image = Adolph Ribbing.jpg
, caption = Adolph Ludvig Ribbing
, alt =
, CoA =
, more = no
, succession =
, reign =
, tenure =
, reign-type =
, predecessor =
, succes ...
(1765–1843), a Swedish count who had been exiled for his involvement in the murder of King Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden.
Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he s ...
.[
]
See also
* Flora Danica
''Flora Danica'' is a comprehensive atlas of botany from the Age of Enlightenment, containing folio-sized pictures of all the wild plants native to Denmark, in the period from 1761 to 1883.
History
''Flora Danica'' was proposed by G. C. Oed ...
References
External links
Theodor Holmskjold property holdings
Danmarks Naturfredningsforening
Harvard University Botany Libraries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmskjold, Johan Theodor
1731 births
1793 deaths
Postmasters general of Denmark
University of Copenhagen alumni
18th-century Danish artists
18th-century Danish male artists
18th-century Danish businesspeople
Danish scientific illustrators
18th-century Danish illustrators
18th-century Danish botanists
Danish mycologists
Danish ceramics industry businesspeople
Danish botanical illustrators
Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog
Members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
18th-century Danish nobility
People from Nyborg