Article ID: CBB001252590

A Naturalist of the Northern Enlightenment: Peter Forsskål after 250 Years (2013)

unapi

Peter Forsskål (1732--1763) was the naturalist on the Royal Danish Expedition to Arabia (1761--1767), a particularly rich example of the eighteenth century era of scientific exploration and a quintessential project of the Enlightenment. Forsskål is noteworthy for his early writings in philosophy and politics and for his outstanding contributions to the botanical and zoological knowledge of the Middle East, specifically Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula, principally Yemen. His biological work stands out for the large number of species identified, its attention to detail, the expansiveness of his descriptions, his knowledge and use of Arabic and his early ideas on plant geography. Forsskål's research in the marine biology of the Red Sea was also pioneering. His publications and collections represent the single greatest contribution to the knowledge of the natural history of the Middle East in the eighteenth century and are still valued by scholars today. His skill in retaining local terminology in Arabic and his respect for the contributions of local inhabitants to this work are also worth noting. When he died of malaria in 1763 in Yemen, the eighteenth-century world of natural science lost a promising and adventurous scientist.

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Authors & Contributors
Mellemgaard, Signe
Simonsen, Jørgen Bæk
Friis, Ib
Menon, Minakshi
Friis, I.
Baack, Lawrence J.
Concepts
Natural history
Naturalists
Scientific expeditions
Botany
Collectors and collecting
Biographies
Time Periods
18th century
19th century
20th century
Enlightenment
Places
Denmark
Arabian peninsula
Yemen
Norway
India
Great Britain
Institutions
Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab
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