Erik Acharius | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 10 October 1757 |
| Died | 14 August 1819 (1819-08-15) (aged 61) |
| Citizenship | Sweden |
| Alma mater | Uppsala University |
| Known for | Pioneeringlichenology |
| Awards | Member of the Linnean Society |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | BotanyLichenology |
| Academic advisors | Carl Linnaeus |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Ach. |
Erik Acharius (10 October 1757 – 14 August 1819) was a Swedishbotanist who pioneered thetaxonomy oflichens and is known as the "father oflichenology". Acharius was famously the last pupil ofCarl Linnaeus.
Acharius was born in 1757 to Johan Eric Acharius and Catharina Margaretha Hagtorn inGävle.[1] He received a private education until he was admitted to Gävle Gymnasium in 1770.[1] Later he matriculated atUppsala University in 1773 where he studied natural history and medicine under Linnaeus and was the last student to defend a dissertation before him.[2] Acharius's dissertation titled,Planta Aphyteia, was on avascular plant species (Hydnora) collected in Southern Africa byCarl Peter Thunberg, which Linnaeus incorrectly classified as fungi. Thus he is known as "Carl Linnaeus last disciple" or the last pupil of Linnaeus. After graduating from Uppsala in 1776, he later worked for theRoyal Academy of Sciences inStockholm and completed his medical studies atLund University in 1782.[3] He was appointed town medical officer inVadstena in 1785, district medical officer inÖstergötland County in 1789, director of the newVadstena Hospital (which he had initiated) in 1795, and titular professor in 1803.[4] As a cartoonist, Acharius Johan illustrated Peter Westring's workSvenska lafvarne color history (1805) and Carl Peter Thunberg'sFlora Capensis.
In 1787 Erik Acharius married Helena Dorotea Scholander (1762–1804), the daughter of a trader, inLandskrona. After Helena's death Acharius married Margareta Maria Hoffberg on 31 December 1804. She was the daughter of Gottfrid Hoffberg who was in charge of production of saltpeter for munitions inSkänninge.[1] In total Erik Acharius had four children, Lars Gustaf Acharius, Jean Torkel Acharius, Catharina Theodora Ohrling (née Acharius) and Charlotta Wilhelmina Acharius.[5]
Acharius spent the remainder of his life in Vadstena, where he died of a stroke while in his household garden examining a Spanish collection of lichens on 14 August 1819, at the age of 61.[2]
Acharius belonged to the younger generations of Swedish botanists who continued what Linnaeus had left undone; classifying all living organisms. Acharius began the taxonomic classification ofLichenes and during his lifetime he classified over 3300 species of lichen separated into 40 different genera.[6] At the time of Linnaeus's death all lichens were grouped into a single genus, thus Acharius was the first to expand lichen classification into the multi-divisional group of organisms it is known to be today.[7] His first publication wasLichenographiae Suecia prodromus, published in 1798, which detailed all known lichen species found in Sweden. This was the first published work to detail lichens usingbinomial nomenclature and expand their classification beyond a single genus. While composingLichenographiae Suecia prodromus, Acharius began communicating withOlof Swartz, another Linnaean disciple, and from 1780 to 1815 they sent nearly 350 letters to each other.[2] Swartz is believed by many historians to have heavily influenced the development of Acharius's classification system.[8] Additionally, Swartz introduced Acharius to many other Swedish naturalists as also several important international figures such asJames Edward Smith, the head of theLinnean Society. This exposure aided Acharius in spreading his new findings on lichens to an international audience. After publishing his first work, he sent a copy to James Edward Smith who, in response, inducted Acharius as a foreign member of the Linnean Society.[9] Subsequently, Acharius publishedMethodus qua omnes detectos Lichenes (1803),[10]Lichenographia universalis (1810),[11] andSynopsis methodica lichenum (1814)[12] each of which he sent to the Society in London, accompanied by hundreds of the specimens described in each book.[13] Over his lifetime Acharius collected over 5500 specimens of lichen most of which are housed today in the Botanical Museum of theFinnish Museum of Natural History.[14]
In his influential works, Acharius introduced many lichen-related terminology that remain in common use today. Starting with designating the pits on the underside ofSticta lichens ascyphellae in 1794, he added the termsapothecium,cephalodium,podetium,proper margin,soredium, andthallus in 1803;thalline margin in 1810; andmazaedium in 1817.[15]
Acharius's international reputation influence many new lichenologist from all over Europe. In 1804Friedrich Weber (1781–1823) andDaniel Matthias Heinrich Mohr (1780–1808), two German naturalists, publishedNaturhistorische Reise durch einen Theil Schwedens which heavily featured his work on lichens and also included four illustrations by Acharius.[16] Furthermore,William Borrer who pioneered lichenology in Britain (and is often called the father of British lichenology) was heavily influence by Acharius's specimens and publications received by the Linnean society in London. These collections and books were studied by Borrer in 1809 and served as the basis for his own work.[2] AdditionallyThomas Gage publishedA Monograph of the GenusCenomyce: Consisting of Coloured Drawings of Each Species and Variety, As Described in the Lichenographia Universalis of Acharius in 1815, which contained illustrations of every species and variation of the genusCenomyce as described inLichenographia universalis.[17] To this day several of Acharius's original classification schema are still used inlichen taxonomy.[18] TheInternational Association for Lichenology has named its medal for lifetime achievement inlichenology theAcharius Medal after him.[19] and also in 1992 installed a commemorative plaque on the house in Vadstena where he lived for many years.[20]
He was a member of theRoyal Physiographic Society in Lund (1795), theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1796), theLinnean Society of London (1801), appointed Knight of theOrder of Vasa (1809), and theRoyal Society of Sciences in Uppsala (1810).
The plant genusAcharia (in 1794,[21]), several plants species (e.g.,Rosa acharii,[22] and (type of lichen),Conferva acharii[23]) and one insect,Tortrix achariana have all been named after Acharius.[24]
The collections of Acharius are distributed over severalmuseums: theFinnish Museum of Natural History inHelsinki, which holds the Botanical Museum in Uppsala, theSwedish Museum of Natural History and the Botanical Museum in Lund. His papers are in theLibrary of Uppsala University.[14] There are also specimens that he collected in theNatural History Museum, London.[25]
The following is a list of Erik Acharius's publications:
Lichenographiae svecicae Prodromus (Beginning of a Lichenography of Sweden) 1798[26]
Methodus qua omnes detectos Lichenes (A Method by which Everyone Can Identify Lichens) 1803[27]
Lichenographia universalis (A Universal Lichenography) 1810[11]
Synopsis methodica Lichenum (Taxonomical Arrangement of Lichens) 1814[12]
