Thekla Susanne Ragnhild Resvoll (22 May 1871 – 14 June 1948) was a Norwegian

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 ...

and educator. She was a pioneer in Norwegian

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 ...

education and

nature conservation Nature conservation is the ethic/moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values ...

together with her sister, Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen.

Biography

Resvoll was born at

Vågå Vågå () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of ...

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...

, Norway. She was the daughter of Hans Resvoll (1823–1908) and Julie Martine Deichman (1831–1902). She worked as a nurse in an upper-class home in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

before commencing studies of

at the Royal Frederick University (now University of Oslo) in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

1894. She became an adept of the professor of

botany 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 ...

, Axel Blytt. After her graduation in 1899, she went to

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 ...

where she worked 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. ...

's botanical laboratory under Professor Eugen Warming. In 1900, she returned to the University of Oslo. She was made an associate professor at the University Botanical Garden in 1902. She obtained her doctorate in 1918 on the basis of a thesis entitled ''On Plants Suited to a Cold and Short Summer'', in which she presented studies on adaptations of alpine plants to the harsh environment. These studies were Warmingian of nature, that is they were based on meticulous observations of plant individuals—their clonal and sexual propagation, perennation etc. Thus, it was plant

population ecology Population ecology is a sub-field of ecology that deals with the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment (biophysical), environment, such as birth rate, birth and death rates, and by immigration an ...

before that discipline was first conceived. Thekla Resvoll made a visit to

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and the

botanic garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

Buitenzorg Bogor City (), or Bogor (, ), is a landlocked city in the West Java, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.

in 1923-24. She studied Fagaceous trees in the Javan flora. She found that they had hibernation buds and interpreted it as an unnecessary trait – a rudiment from their

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

origin. She remained at the Botanical Laboratory until her retirement in 1936. Her botany classes made a lasting impact on generations of Norwegian students. She also wrote a textbook on botany for secondary school students.

Women's rights

Alongside her academic career, Thekla Resvoll took part in the women's equality movement in Norway. She was a board member of the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights (; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's rights, women's and girls' rights organization that works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights through political reform, ...

from 1901, was a head of the Norwegian ''Female Student’s Club'' and served on the board of the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

movement (''Kvinnestemmeretsforeningen'').

Personal life

She was married to mining engineer Andreas Holmsen (1869-1955) whose brother Gunnar Holmsen (1880–1976) was married to her sister Hanna. She was the third woman to become a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

. She died in 1948 in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Selected scientific works

* Resvoll, T. R., 1900. Nogle arktiske ranunklers morfologi og anatomi. Nyt Magazin for Naturvidenskaberne, 38: 343-367. **Proof of energy storage in the rhizome of

Ranunculus glacialis ''Ranunculus'' is a List of the largest genera of flowering plants, large genus of about 1750 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is d ...

. * Resvoll, T. R., 1903. Den nye Vegetation paa Lerfaldet i Værdalen. Nyt Magazin for Naturvidenskaberne, 41. **Describes primary

succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

. * Resvoll, T. R., 1906. Pflanzenbiologische Beobachtungen aus dem Flugsandgebiet bei Röros im inneren Norwegen. Nyt Magazin for Naturvidenskaberne, 44. * Resvoll, T. R., 1917. Om planter som passer til kort og kold sommer. Doctoral thesis, Oslo. * Resvoll, T. R., 1925. Rubus chamaemorus L. A morphological - biological study. Nytt Magasin for Naturvidenskapene, 67: 55-129. * Resvoll, T. R., 1925. Rubus chamaemorus L. Die geographische Verbreitung der Pflanze und ihre Verbreitungsmittel. Veröffentlichungen des Geobotanischen Institutes Rübel in Zürich, 3: 224-241. * Resvoll, T. R., 1925. Beschuppte Laubknospen in den immerfeuchten Tropenwäldern

s. Jena. ** Hibernation buds in Tropical trees.

References

Other sources

*Obituary by Høeg, O.A. in '' Blyttia'' 6: 57-61 (1948). *Eckblad, F.-E. (1991) Thekla Resvoll og Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen, to glemte? Pionerer i norsk botanikk. ''Blyttia'' 49: 3-10. *Biography by Inger Nordal & Bredo Berntsen in Norsk biografisk leksikon, Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget (1999-2005)
Norwegian biography with pictures
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