Jonas Alströmer (7 January 1685 – 2 June 1761) was a pioneer of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

and

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

in Sweden. Born Jonas Toresson (later changed to Alström) in the town of

Alingsås Alingsås () is a locality and the seat of Alingsås Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 24,482 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Geographically the city is situated by the outlet of the small rivulet Säveån into lake Mjö ...

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 ...

, in 1707 he became a clerk for Stockholm merchant Alberg in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Alberg's business failed after about three years, but Alström became a

shipbroker Shipbroking is a financial service, which forms part of the global shipping industry. Shipbrokers are specialist intermediaries/negotiators (i.e. brokers) between shipowners and charterers who use ships to transport cargo, or between buyers and ...

on his own, and did very well. Eventually he desired to establish industry back home, and in 1724 established a

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with t ...

in his native village, which became profitable after some initial difficulties. He then established a sugar refinery in Gothenburg, encouraged improvements in

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Un ...

cultivation,

tanning Tanning may refer to: * Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather * Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin ** Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun ** Sunless tanning, application of a stain or d ...

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...

, and

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roo ...

. Although Alströmer was pivotal in popularizing the cultivation of potatoes, the popular idea that he was responsible for introducing the potato in Sweden is a myth, as potatoes were grown in the Uppsala Botanical Garden (in what is now the

Linnaean Garden The Linnaean Garden or Linnaeus Garden ( sv, Linnéträdgården) is the oldest of the botanical gardens belonging to Uppsala University, Sweden, and nowadays one of two satellite gardens of the larger University of Uppsala Botanic Garden, the othe ...

) by

Olaus Rudbeck Olaus Rudbeck (also known as Olof Rudbeck the Elder, to distinguish him from his son, and occasionally with the surname Latinized as ''Olaus Rudbeckius'') (13 September 1630 – 12 December 1702) was a Swedish scientist and writer, professor o ...

in 1658, before Alströmer was even born. Nevertheless, Alströmer himself maintained that he had brought the potato to Sweden, and his name has remained closely associated with potatoes. He was one of the six persons who founded the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1739. The King made him a knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of ...

in 1748, and soon after with letters of nobility, changing his name to Alströmer. Jonas Alströmer had four sons in two marriages, Patrik Alströmer,

August Alströmer August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named '' Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

(father of Anna Margaretha Alströmer),

Clas Alströmer Baron Clas Alströmer (9 August 1736 – 5 March 1794) was a Swedish naturalist who was a student of Carl Linnaeus at Uppsala University. From 1760 to 1764 he traveled throughout Southern Europe, collecting plants for Linnaeus. He established a bot ...

and Johan Alströmer. His son Clas Alströmer was a noted naturalist.

Memorials

* In 1790 he was honoured with a bust made of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorpho ...

in the

Stockholm Stock Exchange Building The Stock Exchange Building () is a building originally erected for the Stockholm Stock Exchange between 1773 and 1778 from construction drawings by Erik Palmstedt. The stock exchange moved out of the building completely in 1998. It is located on t ...

* In 1905 he was honoured with a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

in Gothenburg * In 1905 he was honoured with a bust in his hometown of

* In 1961 a

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the ...

marked the 200th anniversary of his passing.

References

External links

Nordisk familjebok (1904): Alströmer, Jonas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alstromer, Jonas 1685 births 1761 deaths People from Alingsås Municipality Swedish nobility Swedish agronomists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 18th-century Swedish businesspeople Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Age of Liberty people