Hampus from Post

Hampus from Post

Hampus Adolf von Post (born December 15, 1822 at Tisenhult manor , Finspång municipality , † August 16, 1911 in Uppsala ) was a Swedish agricultural scientist and geologist at the Agricultural Institute in Uppsala- Ultuna and director of a glassworks in Rejmyre .

Live and act

From 1840 von Post studied at Uppsala University and worked from 1842 to 1845 on his uncle's farm in Frängsäter in Östergötland , where he was able to gain practical experience in agriculture. From 1846 to 1847 he studied as a chemical laboratory assistant abroad and returned to Stockholm in 1848, where he studied chemistry with Lars Fredrik Svanberg (1805–1878) .

In 1849 he got a job as a teacher of chemistry, physics and geology at the Uppsala-Ultuna Agricultural Institute. In 1852, as a partner in the glassworks in Rejmyre, he became director of this company, where he stayed until 1868, when he returned to school. At the same time he was director of the Institute for Agricultural Chemistry in Ultuna, where he stayed until 1892.

Although von Post was an expert in his field, he never earned a degree and repeatedly refused to accept a professorship. In 1875 he accepted the appointment as honorary professor.

The main research focus of Posts was in applied agricultural sciences, where he was characterized by his keen observation skills and the art of concisely presenting the results of his observations.

After Karl Friedrich Schimper had formulated the Ice Age theory in 1837 and this was eagerly disseminated by Louis Agassiz , the Swedes Otto Torell , Hampus von Post and Axel Erdmann (1814–1869) made important contributions to this theory, based on the icing of Northern Europe complete.

Von Posts views on the formation of the Rullstensås and the different soils like Dy or Gyttja are important contributions to the landscape history of Scandinavia. He was the first Swedish geologist who developed the glacier theory from Nils Gabriel Sefström . He provided an explanation for the formation of the glacier pots and also observed Darwin's remarks on the activity of earthworms during this time . He also contributed to a better understanding of the role of soil animals in humus formation .

His work on plant protection, such as phytopathogenic fungi and the infestation of crops by insects, as well as the formation of variations in crops, were also important for agricultural practice.

His research on vegetation brought equally important insights. He was the first Swedish researcher to study raised bogs with regard to their formation and structure. He was also one of the first to point out the regular occurrence of certain combinations of plants depending on their location and can therefore be considered an early pioneer of plant sociology.

The Von Postbreen , a glacier on the island of Svalbard , was named after von Post.

Honors

• 1858: Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
• 1861: Member of the Swedish Agricultural Academy; honorary member there in 1894
• 1875: Honorary professor
• 1877: Dr. hc

literature

• Gustaf Elgenstierna : The introducerade svenska adelns ättartavlor. Volume VI. PA Norstedt & Söners Förlag, Stockholm 1931.
• Olle von Post: Den adliga ätze von Post. Number 687, 1625-2006. Iréne from Posts förlag, Hammarö 2008.
• Hampus from Post . In: Herman Hofberg, Frithiof Heurlin, Viktor Millqvist, Olof Rubenson (eds.): Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon . 2nd Edition. tape 2 : L – Z, including supplement . Albert Bonniers Verlag, Stockholm 1906, p. 302 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hampus von Post (1862): Studier öfver Nutidens koprogena Jordbildningar . Kgl. Svenska Vetensk. Akad. Handl., 4 volume, no. l.
2. ↑ From Postbreen . In: The Place Names of Svalbard (first edition 1942). Norsk Polarinstitutt , Oslo 2001, ISBN 82-90307-82-9 (English, Norwegian).