Linnaeus Apostle: Carl Peter Thunberg

Carl Peter Thunberg (1743 - 1828) was a Linnaeus apostle who traveled to South Africa, Japan, Java, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He worked in the field for close to nine years, collecting plant and animal specimens, and published numerous books and papers about his expeditions and discoveries. Thunberg has been called the “father of South African botany” and the “Japanese Linnaeus” and is honored in both countries.

Thunberg was small, but strong and wiry. He was a competent doctor and botanist, and his actions show him as kind, considerate, and generous (in later years he helped over 200 doctoral students with their dissertations, without charging them a fee). Dr. Heinz Goerke (a modern Linnaeus scholar) observes “A striking feature of Thunberg’s works is their cold objectivity. His interest in nature was purely scientific. He never sought adventure, nor does it seem that the beauty of a foreign scene, the strangeness of new plants or the circumstances of their discovery particularly moved him. His principal concern was the practical value of what he found.” What a fascinating contrast for someone who spent so many years in the field, living a great adventure!

Carl Peter Thunberg portrait by von Krafft der Jungere (Public domain)

Thunberg was born in Jönköping in Smålander, Sweden on November 11, 1743 to Margaretha and Johan Thunberg, a bookkeeper at an iron foundry, and owner of a small shop. Carl’s father died when he was a boy, so his mother supported him and his brother by running the shop. She later married a merchant, which improved their circumstances. Although poor, Margaretha made sure her sons received the best education possible, with the plan for them to become accountants. Thunberg spent nine years at the Uppsala University studying Latin, Theology, Law, and Philosophy, and then earned a doctorate in medicine, studying under Linnaeus.

Europe

After University, Linnaeus arranged a small grant for Thunberg to travel and study abroad in Holland and France. He arrived in Amsterdam in October 1770 and spent a year with botanists Johannes Burman (1707 – 1779) and his son Nikolaas Laurens Burman (1733-1793). They were both impressed with Thunberg’s ability to name and classify plants in their collection without consulting any references. Thunberg studied medical practices in Paris during the year. On his return to Amsterdam, he learned that the Burmans had arranged for his employment with the Dutch East India Company for service in Japan. At the time Japan was closed to trade with all foreigners, except the Dutch. Thunberg would need to become Dutch – familiar with the Dutch colonies and fluent in the Dutch language!



Journey of Carl Peter Thunberg - Europe, South Africa, Japan, Java, and Ceylon

Learn more:

• The IK Foundation – provides detailed information about natural and cultural history, including Carl Linnaeus and his apostles: http://www.ikfoundation.org/ifacts/carlpeterthunberg.php
• The Linnaean Society of London – provides a comprehensive online collection of information, correspondence, specimens, art, and documents: http://www.linnean-online.org/
• Linnaeus The Compleat Naturalist, by Wilfrid Blunt. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford (2004). Chapter 6, “The Apostles,” pages 194 – 197.