|
Pehr Kalm, botanist (b in Sweden 6 Mar 1716; d in Finland 16 Nov 1779). Kalm was educated in Finland and Sweden. He met the leading European naturalist, Linnaeus, in 1741, and under his influence became an expert on botanical applications to agriculture. Linnaeus proposed a trip to North America to discover plants that might be viable in Scandinavia and chose Kalm, who reached Philadelphia in September 1748, to meet the foremost American naturalists. Arriving in New France in July 1749, he botanized near Lake Champlain before moving on to Montréal and Québec. His work there was financed by the French as a favour to Sweden. He met the leading scientific lights, including Jean-François GAULTIER and Governor LA GALISSONIÈRE.
He returned to New York that autumn but made a botanical foray to Niagara during the summer of 1750. Returning to Sweden in 1751, he took up a professorship at Åbo. Kalm's record of his visit to New France, published 1753-61, offers one of the best studies of intellectual and social life during the final years of the French regime. Besides providing new botanical information, it brought Canada to European attention. In his diary he stated that the scientific interest exhibited by the French was superior to that of the British Americans.
Author
RICHARD A. JARRELL
Suggested Reading
P. Kalm, The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America, ed A.B. Benson (1927, repr 1966).
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Time waits for no man… and neither do trains... |
|
| Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River ... |
|
|
| The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - ... |
|
|
| Sir John Alexander Macdonald, lawyer, businessman, politician, first prime minister of Canada (b at Brunswick Place, ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| John Ware, "Nigger John," horseman, rancher (b near Georgetown, SC 1845; d near Brooks, Alta 11 Sept 1905). ... |
|
|
| Créditistes, Québec party involved in federal politics. For nearly 2 decades before its 1958 formation ... |
|
|
| Julia Verlyn LaMarsh, "Judy," lawyer, politician, broadcaster, novelist (b at Chatham, Ont 20 Dec 1924; d at ... |
|
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
| THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA |
|
| The Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts. A theatre complex at the Wascana Centre in Regina, constructed to commemorate Canada's centenary. It opened 24 Aug 1970 to serve southern Saskatchewan as a centre for performing arts and ... |
|
|
