Daniel Charles Solander
Solander, Daniel Charles (1733-1782) was a Swedish naturalist who sailed on the first major European expedition to the south seas. During that voyage, Solander helped British botanist Joseph Banks collect and classify more than 1000 species of plants that had previously been unknown in Europe.
Solander entered the University of Uppsala at 17, where he became a pupil and then a friend of the great Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus .
Solander left Sweden for England in 1759, arriving in 1760. There, he began attending meetings of the Royal Society and was elected a member of the society in 1764. In 1768, through his friendship with the wealthy Joseph Banks, Solander became part of Captain James Cook's expedition to the south seas. Over nearly three years, as the expedition sailed around the world, Solander and Banks collected and documented specimens of flora and fauna from the islands of the Pacific as well as New Zealand and Australia. The ship returned to England in 1771 with over 800 previously unknown plant specimens. The following summer, Solander accompanied Banks on another exploratory mission to New Hebrides, the Orkney Islands, and Iceland.
Solander was awarded a doctorate of Law degree from Oxford University for his accomplishments and was offered a chair in botany by the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg in Russia, though he did not accept the position. He remained in England for the rest of his life, working with Banks as his librarian and secretary and as assistant keeper, then keeper, at the British Museum. He died in 1782.