Christen Smith
Christen Smith (17 October 1785 – 22 September 1816) also known as Christian Smith or Chretien Smith, was an early 19th-century Norwegian physician, economist and naturalist, particularly botanist. He died, only 30 years old during a dramatic expedition to the Congo River in 1816, leaving a wealth of botanical material.
Early years
Smith was born at
The Canary and Madeira expeditions
In 1808, Smith graduated and started to practice medicine in Norway. In 1814, he was appointed professor of national economy and
Death on the Congo
Having learned geology from Buch in addition to discovering new plant species, Smith was approached by the
The Congo expedition began in February 1816 and went badly from the start. The original plan was to sail up the river using the expedition ship "HMS Congo", which had originally been constructed as a steamboat, a technology that was still in its infancy. While the ship was eventually rigged for conventional sails, the heavy construction made it sit deep in the water. The accompanying lighter vessel "Dorothy" was also used but was stopped by rapids 160 km inland. The expedition continued on foot up along the Congo through mosquito-infested swamps.[3] The expedition advanced 450 kilometres up the river, but lack of food, hostile natives and ravaging tropical fevers forced the expedition to turn back without having found the sought connection. On the way downriver, Smith caught a tropical fever (probably yellow fever) and died, less than a month shy of his 31st birthday. In all, 18 of the 56 members of the expedition perished, including all the scientists and the captain, who died after returning to the ship.[3] The ill-fated expedition was part of the inspiration for Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, written almost a century later.[1]
Smith's legacy
Before succumbing to fever, Captain Tuckey made sure that Smith's diary and plant specimens were shipped to London. His collection from the trip consisted of 620 species, of which 250 proved to be new to science but had to be published by other botanists. Several of the texts he left behind were later published by his friend Martin Richard Flor.[1][2]
Many species of plants have been named after Smith, e.g.,
Also a species of snake, Grayia smythii, is named in honor of Christen Smith.[6]
Notes and references
- ^ ISBN 82-03-22965-4
- ^ Baron von Buch, L. (1826) Biographical Memoir of the late Christian Smith, M. D. Naturalist to the Congo Expedition. Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, 1: 209-216. Full text
- ^ a b c Tuckey, J. H. (1818): Narrative of an expedition to explore the river Zaire, usually called the Congo, in South Africa, in 1816, under the direction of Captain J.H. Tuckey R.N. To which is added, The journal of Professor Smith; some general observations on the country and its inhabitants. London: J. Murray. Full text
- ^ a b Sunding, Per (2004): Christen Smith’s diary from the Canary Islands and his importance for the Canarian botany. Project Humboldt.
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1893). "Lockhart, David" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 34. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Smith, C.", p. 247).
- ^ International Plant Names Index. C.Sm.
See also
- Observations, systematical and geographical, on the herbarium collected by Professor Christian Smith, in the vicinity of the Congo
- Media related to Christen Smith at Wikimedia Commons
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