Dahlgren was born inÖrebro on 7 July 1932 toapothecary Rudolf Dahlgren and wife Greta née Dahlstrand.[1] He took hisMSc degree in Biology in (1955) andPhD degree in Botany in (1963) atLund University.[2] He was killed in a car crash inScania,Sweden on 14 February 1987.[3]
He continued working onSouth African plants during expeditions in 1956-57 and 1965–66, while affiliated with theBotanical Museum in Lund asdocent. In 1973, he becameprofessor ofbotany at theUniversity of Copenhagen. Here, he developed hissystem ofAngiosperm classification, based on many more characters simultaneously than previous systems, most notably manychemical plant traits (see alsochemotaxonomy). Although the system was first presented inDanish,[4] it rapidly gained widespread acceptance, particularly due to the instructive diagrams, so-called Dahlgrenograms. His work on family circumscription in theMonocotyledons, published withHarold Trevor Clifford and Peter Frederick Yeo, has had profound influence well into the molecular age.[5][6]
A Rolf Dahlgren Memorial Symposium was held inBerlin,Germany later in 1987. The couple had three children, Susanna, Helena and Fredrik.[7]
Dahlgren, R. (1975). "A system of classification of angiosperms to be used to demonstrate the distribution of characters".Botaniska Notiser.128:119–147.
Dahlgren R. (1975b). The distribution of characters within an angiosperm system. I. Some embryological characters. Botaniska Notiser 128: 181–197
Dahlgren, R., 1977b. A note on the Taxonomy of the 'Synpetalae' and related groups. Publications of the Cairo University Herbarium, 7–8: 83- 102.
Dahlgren. R., Nielsen, B. J., Goldblait, P. & Rourke, J. P., 1979. Further notes on Retziaceae, its chemical contents and affinities.Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 66: 545-556
Dahlgren, R., Jensen, S. R., & Nielsen, B. J., 1976. Iridoid compounds in Fouquieraceae and notes on its possible affinities. Bolaniska Notiser 129: 207-212.
