Erling Christophersen Explained

Erling Christophersen (April 17, 1898 – November 9, 1994) was a Norwegian botanist, geographer and diplomat. He participated in and led several notable scientific expeditions in the 20th century, including the fifth Tanager Expedition (1924) to Nihoa and Necker Island and the Norwegian Scientific Expedition to Tristan da Cunha (1937–1938).

Early life

Christophersen was born in Christiania, Norway (now known as Oslo) in 1898. He attended the University of Christiania from 1918 to 1921, and received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1924.^[1] Christophersen's dissertation, "Soil reaction and plant distribution in the Sylene National Park, Norway", focused on the art and science of applied forest ecology, or silviculture, of alpine plants in Norway.^[2]

Career

Christophersen was a professor of botany at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa from 1929 to 1932. He was instrumental in developing and leading the scientific expedition to Tristan da Cunha from 1937 to 1938. His book, Tristan da Cunha, the lonely island (1938), is an account of the expedition.^[1]

Selected publications

• Christophersen . Erling . 1925 . Soil Reaction and Plant Distribution in the Sylene National Park, Norway . Trans. Conn. Acad. Sci . Connecticut academy of arts and sciences . 27 . 471–577.
• Book: Christophersen, Erling . Caum, Edward L. . Vascular plants of the Leeward Islands, Hawaii . . Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin No. 81; Tanager Expedition Publication No. 7 . 1931-07-01 . Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.
• "Vascular plants of Johnston and Wake Islands" (1931)
• "Plants of Gough Islands" (1934)
• "Flowering plants of Samoa" (1935)
• Tristan da Cunha, the Lonely Isle (1938)

See also

• Amaranthus brownii
• Diospyros christophersenii

Further reading

• Oct 1941. Review: Tristan da Cunha. Geographical Review. American Geographical Society. 31. 4. 697. 10.2307/210522. 210522. Christophersen. Erling. Benham. R. L..
• Book: Stafleu, Frans A.. Erik A. Mennega. 1997. Taxonomic Literature, 2nd edition (TL-2). Supplement IV: Ce-Cz. Koeltz Scientific Books, International Association for Plant Taxonomy. Germany. 165–167. 3-87429-395-5.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Jørgensen. Per Magnus. 2000–2009. Erling Christophersen. Kunnskapsforlaget. Norsk biografisk leksikon, Store Norske Leksikon. Oslo.
2. Kelley. Arthur P.. Soil Reaction in Relation to Alpine Plants. Ecology. 7. 3. Ecological Society of America. 385–388. 10.2307/1929324. 1929324. 1926. See also: Web site: Yale Silviculture Lab: Publications. Yale University. 2011-03-17. 2011-06-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20110629183355/http://www.yale.edu/silvics/publications.html. dead.