iFACTS | Daniel Rolander

Date of Birth	20 March 1723.
Place of Birth	Stibbetorp, Hälleberga, Småland, Sweden.
Date of Death	9/10 August 1793.
Place of Death	Lund, Sweden.
Monuments Medals Etc.	Unknown. Rolander was buried north of the cathedral church in Lund on the burial ground for the poor, but there are no trace today after Rolander’s grave.
Variations of Name's Spelling	Unknown.
Preserved signature	In correspondence.
Portrait	Unknown.
Childhood, Adolescence & Education	Parents, Farmers, Jon Persson and Kirstin Jonsdotter. Växjö cathedral school, autumn 1736. Växjö gymnasium, autumn 1741. Student, Uppsala University 1744, primarily theology but also natural history under Linnaeus. He received the “Thunska stipendiet”, 1752.
Professional Life	He worked during some of his student years (1751-1754) as tutor for Carl Linnaeus’ son Carl, for food and lodging. Rolander published his entomological observations in The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ Transactions, 1750-1755. He was employed as manager for the hospital garden of the Seraphim hospital in Stockholm, January 1757. Rolander lost his employment in the hospital garden 1761, and moved to Copenhagen with his collections from Suriname. He lived in Copenhagen until 1765, most probably he tried to get his observations from Suriname published during this time, when this was not possible he sold his collections to carry on with his day to day life. He moved back to Sweden and lived in Landskrona 1765-1770. His life here was primarily financed through support from the General Major Strussenfeldt and the Head of Division to the Board of Commerce Arvid Schauw, who both encouraged his work. During this period Rolander also made an inventory over the island Ven’s botanical and zoological life. Rolander moved to Lund 1770 where he received a university grant, for the period autumn 1770 to spring 1775. In this position he also helped the Professor of Natural History at Lund University Eric Gustaf Lidbeck in his work. Rolander’s last 18 years are more uncertain and it is believed that he lived in poverty and ill health. Foremost Lidbeck - also a former pupil of Linnaeus and other professors in Lund - helped him financially in his difficult situation.
Journeys & Voyages	Journey to Suriname; 21 October 1754 via Ystad, northern Germany and Amsterdam. The ship sailed from Texel towards Suriname 12 April and arrived 20 June 1755. Rolander served as a private tutor to the children of Carl Gustaf Dahlberg and stayed c. seven months in the country. He started his return journey towards Sweden on 22 January 1756 via the Caribbean island, St. Eustache to Amsterdam, Hamburg, Wismar and he was back in Stockholm 2 October 1756. (Rolander’s journey was financed through ‘Thunska stipendiet’, 200 daler kopparmynt [rix-dollar copper coin] from Carl Linnaeus and 600 daler kopparmynt from Baron Charles De Geer. For the return journey The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, whom were also helping him with his expenses).
Travel Diaries & Other Publications in Connection with the Journeys & Voyages	His journal exists in a single Latin manuscript copy in the Danish Botanical Library. It is called ‘Diarium Surinamicum, quod sub itinere exotico conscripsit Daniel Rolander, tomus I & II. 1754-1756’. The Danish professor C. F. Rottboell used some of Rolander’s diary and herbarium material as the basis for several botanical treatises in the late 18th century. Rolander had sold the diary and some of the herbarium to Rottboell and C. Kratzenstein, a colleague of Rottboell. Besides several selections limited to a few pages or passages, the Diarium Surinamicum has never so far been published in Latin. First published in an English translation 2008 in The Linnaeus Apostles - Global Science & Adventure, Vol. 3 Book 3.
Civil Status & Family	Unmarried.
Preserved Collections & Manuscripts	A smaller part of the herbarium plants collected in Suriname and Rolander’s travel journal in Latin, ‘Diarium Surinamicum...’, Botanical Garden & Museum Library, Copenhagen. A major collection of herbarium plants (several hundreds) from Suriname, Bergius Herbarium in Stockholm. Several specimens of Rolander’s botanical collections from Suriname; The Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, Thunberg Herbarium in Uppsala and the Botanical Museum in Helsinki. Insect specimens from Suriname, The Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. Extract from a memorandum concerning medicinal plants used in Suriname and a smaller collection of herbarium plants, The Linnean Society of London. Letters from Rolander, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm. Letters from Rolander to Eric Gustav Lidbeck, Lund University Library. Letters, The Linnean Society of London, Linnaean Correspondence. (Three letters from Rolander to Linnaeus and three letters from Linnaeus to Rolander).
Extra Notes	Rolander’s special interest in the area of natural history was entomology. Rolander’s disagreement with Linnaeus after the Suriname journey was never solved. Rolander’s achievements in natural history was for a long time underestimated, but later years research indicates that his scientific work related to botany and entomology was of great significance, although many of his scientific novelties remained unpublished. The Neotropic plant genus Rolandra (family Asteraceae) was named by Rottboell after Daniel Rolander.
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Botany
(1534)

Earth Sciences
(35)

Zoology
(1862)

Agriculture
(1059)

Anthropology
(1890)

Collections
(858)

Geography
(600)

Persons
(294)

ADDED KNOWLEDGE
(4)

iProject
(5)

Bridge Builder Expedition
(0)

ADDED KNOWLEDGE

Zoology

SILVERFISH

Examined by Daniel Rolander

Agriculture

PLANTATIONS – PARAMARIBO

& Observations by Daniel Rolander in 1755

Anthropology

THE SURINAME JOURNAL

Unique manuscript by Rolander

Geography

DANIEL ROLANDER

”This is my place of birth…”

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In iFACTS biographical facts of each individual Linnaeus Apostle are described, a total of seventeen men who made long voyages from the years 1746 to 1799, more than 50 years of travel in the service of science!

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