Josua Lindahl
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Johan Harald Josua (Joshua) Lindahl (January 1, 1844 – April 19, 1912) was a
Swedish American Swedish Americans () are Americans of Swedish descent. The history of Swedish Americans dates back to the early colonial times, with notable migration waves occurring in the 19th and early 20th centuries and approximately 1.2 million arrivi ...
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
and
paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
. He was a professor at Augustana College from 1878 to 1888, then was Illinois State Geologist until 1893. He is the namesake of the extinct
Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barbs and barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family, and t ...
subspecies ''Aphelichthys lindahlii''. and the extinct
Medullosales The Medullosales is an extinct order of pteridospermous seed plants characterised by large ovules with circular cross-section and a vascularised nucellus, complex pollen-organs, stems and rachides with a dissected stele, and frond-like leaves ...
''Neuropteris lindahli'' named by
David_White_(geologist) Charles David White (July 1, 1862 – February 7, 1935), who normally went by his middle name, was an American geologist, born in Palmyra, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1886, and in 1889 became a member of the United Sta ...


Biography

Johan Harald Josua Lindahl was born in
Kungsbacka Kungsbacka () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 19,057 inhabitants in 2010. It is a part of Greater Gothenburg Metropolitan Area. It is one of the most affluent parts of Sw ...
,
Halland County Halland County (, ) is a county ('' län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. Prince Julian, the son of Prince Carl Philip, is Duke of Halland. ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. He was the son of a Lutheran minister. When his father died in 1854, he was sent to
Karlshamn Karlshamn () is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015, out of 31,846 in the municipality. Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles ...
,
Blekinge County Blekinge County () is a county or '' län'' in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden ...
, to live with relatives. Lindahl attended
Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...
, graduating in 1863. He supported himself through tutorship of the noble
Essen family The Essen family or von Essen is the name of a Baltic nobility, Baltic German noble family which later became part of the Swedish nobility, Swedish and Russian nobility. History The first known ancestor was Thomas von Essen (d. 1615–1627) who w ...
. He studied with
conchologist Conchology, from Ancient Greek κόγχος (''kónkhos''), meaning "cockle (bivalve), cockle", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of mollus ...
John Gwyn Jeffreys John Gwyn Jeffreys FRS (18 January 1809 – 21 January 1885) was a British conchologist and malacologist. Biography John Gwyn Jeffreys was born on 18 January 1809, at Swansea, Wales. He was the eldest son of J. Jeffreys of Fynone, Glamorgan. ...
on his Atlantic Ocean deep sea surveys in 1870. The following year, Lindahl was part of an expedition to
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
to retrieve natural blocks of iron. In 1872, he was named an assistant of the Royal Swedish Museum under
Sven Ludvig Lovén Prof Sven Ludvig Lovén (6 January 1809 – 3 September 1895), was a Swedish marine zoologist and malacologist. The Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences within the University of Gothenburg was named in his honour. Life Lovén was born in Stoc ...
. He received a Ph.D. in 1874, then was appointed a docent in zoology at Lund. Lindahl was appointed the secretary of the Swedish commission to the International Geological Congress and Exposition in 1875. When he returned, he was given leadership of the Swedish delegation at the
Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...
in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. He remained in Philadelphia until 1878, when he accepted an appointment as the chair of natural science at Augustana College,
Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...
. The first professor there who was not a minister, Lindahl also founded the school's museum of natural history. In 1888, Lindahl was named Illinois State Geologist and curator of the
Illinois State Museum The Illinois State Museum features the life, land, people and art of the State of Illinois. In addition to natural history exhibits, the main museum in Springfield focuses on the state's cultural and artistic heritage. Exhibits include local foss ...
. He served in this role until July 1893, when he was asked to resign by Governor
John Peter Altgeld John Peter Altgeld (December 30, 1847 – March 12, 1902) was an American politician and the 20th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1893 until 1897. He was the first Democrat to govern that state since the 1850s. A leading figure of the Prog ...
. Lindahl then moved to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, where he taught for two years before his appointment as director of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
. He was the editor of their ''Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History''. He also became involved with the production of
ethyl acetate Ethyl acetate commonly abbreviated EtOAc, ETAC or EA) is the organic compound with the formula , simplified to . This flammable, colorless liquid has a characteristic sweet smell (similar to pear drops) and is used in glues, nail polish removers, ...
, and returned to Chicago to oversee its manufacture. Lindahl was a member of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
,
National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...
, and 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 ...
. He was also president of the Ohio State Academy of Science. He was named Officier d'Académie in
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 ...
in 1875, and in 1877, King
Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of Oscar I of Sweden, King Oscar I and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, Queen J ...
named him to 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 ...
.


Personal life

He married Swedish native Sophie Pahlman (1848–1909) on March 18, 1877. They had four children, though the eldest died young. Lindahl died at his Chicago home in 1914.


Publications

*''Dr. N. O. Holst's Studies in Glacial Geology'', ''
The American Naturalist ''The American Naturalist'' is the monthly Peer review, peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society of Naturalists, whose purpose is "to advance and to diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as ...
'', 1888 *''Description of a Skull of Megalonyx Leidyi'', ''
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
'', 1892 *''The Black-Capped Petrel (Æstrelata hasitata) on the Ohio River at Cincinnati'', ''
The Auk ''Ornithology'', formerly ''The Auk'' and ''The Auk: Ornithological Advances'', is a peer-reviewed scientific journal and the official publication of the American Ornithological Society (AOS). It was established in 1884 and is published quarterly ...
'', 1899 *''A List of Isopoda from the State of Ohio, Preserved in the Museum of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History'', ''The Ohio Naturalist'', 1906


Patents

*Improvements in Planetographs or Zodiac Charts (with Caleb Lindahl), 1896


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindahl, Josua 1844 births 1914 deaths 19th-century American geologists 19th-century Swedish geologists Scientists from Chicago Scientists from Philadelphia People from Kungsbacka Augustana College (Illinois) faculty Lund University alumni Swedish emigrants to the United States Recipients of the Order of Vasa