Chrono-Biographical Sketch: Olof Arrhenius

Some Biogeographers, Evolutionists and Ecologists:
Chrono-Biographical Sketches

Arrhenius, Olof (Sweden 1896-1977)
agricultural chemistry

Photo courtesy of the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland.

Rather overshadowed by his more famous Nobel laureate father Svante Arrhenius, a chemist, Olof Arrhenius nevertheless made at least one important discovery for which he continues to be known. In 1921 he published the results of an analysis in which he counted the number of species occurring in different-sized plots and then set the results to a mathematical formulation, thereby deriving the species-area relation (one of the many uses of which includes the design of protected areas). Arrhenius worked in other areas as well, publishing a total of over two hundred articles on subjects as widely varied as soil science, sugar beet cultivation, plant growth, history of science, and metals corrosion.

Life Chronology

--born in Stockholm, Sweden, on 2 November 1895.
--1917: M.A.
--1920: D.Sc.
--1920: assistant, Agricultural Experimental Station, Stockholm
--1921: publishes "Species and Area" in Journal of Ecology
--1923: publishes "Statistical Investigations in the Constitution of Plant Associations" in Ecology
--1925: made assistant professor, Agricultural Experimental Station, Stockholm
--1925-1928: plant biologist, Sugar Experimental Station, Pasoeroean, Java
--1929-1950: employed by the Sugar Co., Sweden
--1932: receives the Gustav Adolf medal
--1944: honored with Sweden's Royal Order of North Star
--1945: made member, Agricultural Academy of Sweden
--1955: receives gold medal of the Academy of Engineering, Sweden
--1960: receives gold medal of the Geographical Society of Wahlberg
--1973: receives the Vasa Gold Medal
--dies in 1977.

For Additional Information, See:

--Dictionary of Scandinavian Biography, 2nd ed. (1976).

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