Nicholas Collin

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Nicholas Collin, pastel sketch from 1810

Nicholas Collin (born August 2, 1746 as Nils Collin in Funbo , † October 7, 1831 in Philadelphia ) was a Swedish pastor and amateur scholar . His diverse interests included religious and scientific studies, work on inventions , botanical collections, and history , politics and philanthropy .

Life

Trinity Church in Swedesboro

Nils Collin was born as the son of Pastor Nils Collin and Maria Nordstedt in Funbo, 10 kilometers east of Uppsala . From November 30, 1759 he studied mathematics , especially probability theory , in Uppsala. On May 30, 1767 he submitted a dissertation on cognitive probabilities to the astronomer Erik Prosperin and on May 13, 1769 a Latin treatise on the mathematical sciences. He was ordained a pastor on December 20, 1768, and in May 1769 received a position as a predicant of the Swedish Mission on the Delaware River in North America . The Lutherans of the former colony of New Sweden had asked the Swedish state church for support because numerous Quakers immigrated to the area. Until the American declaration of independence in 1776, the Swedish clergy worked there as guests of the British government and the Church of England . In July Collin first traveled to London , stayed there from September 1769 to March 1770, and arrived in Philadelphia on May 12, 1770.

Pastor in Raccoon

First he supported the pastor Johan Wicksell in the parishes of Raccoon (now Swedesboro ) and Penns Neck (now Churchtown ), on October 6, 1772 he was pastor of these parishes, from 1775 to 1782 he was provost of the Swedish Lutherans in North America. Like other pastors, he recognized that the melting pot of Americanization meant that the end of the Swedish mission was only a matter of time: the children of the faithful hardly learned the Swedish language anymore, which is why services had to be offered in two languages. His diary , published posthumously , shows that he was homesick and missed the comforts of Sweden. But he adapted and survived the turmoil of the American Revolution . Some of the believers were afraid to come to the services because the local rulers took the opportunity to “get both horses and men”. In February 1777 he was detained by local militias himself, but the influential physician Bodo Otto obtained his release. He was arrested again in September 1777 when the British captured Philadelphia after the Battle of Brandywine , he wanted to draw the battlefields with his curious nature and was therefore accused of being a spy. After the American War of Independence he received it from the Swedish King Gustav III. permission to return to Sweden. Now that there was peace and living conditions had improved, he decided to stay and attend to the local work on the new Trinity Church (1784–86). In addition to his work, he reported "considerable time to amuse myself with my dear math and philosophy". Collin kept records of the weather, made experimental refinements in his orchard and collected botanical preparations which he sent to Sweden . In addition, he conducted a lively correspondence with Swedish scientists. It was customary at the time for amateur scientists to deal with such questions. In English he used the first name Nicholas. From 1784 to 1791, he was a trustee of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania .

Time in Philadelphia

Gloria Dei Church in Philadelphia, 2014

In 1786 Collin moved from New Jersey to Philadelphia to the Gloria Dei Church , built at the end of the 17th century . There he found connection to the scientific and political circles and became a member of the Society for Political Inquiries , founded in 1787 , which met in Benjamin Franklin's dining room to discuss ways to improve the social and economic situation of Americans. He had a close friendship with Franklin. In several newspaper articles he advocated a United States Constitution that was passed on September 17, 1787. In 1789 Collin was accepted as a member of the American Philosophical Society (APS). In 1791 he received his doctorate in theology from the University of Pennsylvania . He understood the philosopher as a citizen of the world ( English citizens of the world ) and criticized his spiritual colleagues as "pure theologians, Greek and Hebrew, of which we can not expect much for the progress of science." Collin published a list of suggestions from the fields of medicine, agriculture, physics, mathematics, natural history, mineralogy and public institutions to increase satisfaction in the country. Under Thomas Jefferson , he was one of the vice presidents of the APS, founded its botanical garden and ran the society's library . He also collected information on the structures of the former colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River , which existed from 1638 to 1655, and the population development between 1697 and 1742. In his own community he kept detailed population registers from 1793 to 1830. As early as May 1791, Collin was the last of the pastors sent from Sweden to North America. After that, the close ties between the Swedish community and the motherland broke off. In 1793 Philadelphia was hit by a yellow fever epidemic, and in another outbreak in 1797, Collins wife Hannah died at the age of 48. The common child had already died before.

On the left of the picture under the gallery of the Gloria Dei Church there are memorial stones for Nicholas and Hannah Collin

In 1793 Collin was accepted into the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences . In 1795, Collin received the Magellanic Premium from the APS for a "curious" elevator ( English speedy elevator ). He also developed a construction with a rescue cage to free people from burning buildings. He also dealt with linguistic issues. He is considered to be one of the first to bring the knowledge of probability theory acquired through Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet , to the United States in the 18th century . In 1824 he was a co-founder of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Nicholas Collin died in Philadelphia on October 7, 1831 . He is buried under the floor of the Gloria Dei church.

Publications

  • Amandus Johnson (Ed.): The Journal and Biography of Nicholas Collin, 1746-1831 . Diary translated from Swedish. The New Jersey Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 1936.
  • Bengt Hildebrand: Nils Collin . In: Svenskt biografiskt lexikon 8, 1929, pp. 725 ff. ( Online resource ).

Web links

Commons : Nicholas Collin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Conrad JI Bergendoff: Review of the book The Journal and Biography of Nicholas Collin by Amandus Johnson. In: Church History 6 (2), June 1937, Chicago, p. 192, doi: 10.2307 / 3160882 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bengt Hildebrand: Nils Collin . In: Svenskt biografiskt lexikon 8, 1929, p. 725 ff ( online resource ).
  3. ↑ a b A. Urken, I. McLean: Nicholas Collin and the dissemination of Condorcet in the United States . In: Science in Context 20 (1), 2007, pp. 125-133, doi: 10.1017 / S0269889706001165 .
  4. ^ Prosperin, Erik . In: Nordisk familjebok , 22. Possession - Retzia , pp. 397–398 .
  5. ↑ Dissertatio de cognitione probabili . Edman, Uplandi 1767.
  6. ↑ Observationes nonnullæ in scientiarum mathematicarum statum præsentem. Quas,… præside, Mag. Daniele Melander… pro gradu, publice proponit Nicolaus Collin Uplandus. In audit. Carol. Maj. D. 13 Maji MDCCLXIX. 1769. urn : nbn: se: uu: diva-394563 .
  7. ^ A b c Richard Waldron: “A True Servant of the Lord”: Nils Collin, the Church of Sweden, and the American Revolution in Gloucester County . Contribution to the conference Piety, Politics and Public Houses: Churches, Taverns and Revolution in New Jersey , New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, March 8, 2003. In: New Jersey History 126 (1), pp. 96-103.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Whitfield J. Bell: (Ed.): Nicholas Collin's Appeal to American Scientists . In: The William and Mary Quarterly 13 (4), October 1956, pp. 519-550, doi: 10.2307 / 1917022 .
  9. ↑ Amandus Johnson: The records of the Swedish Lutheran churches at Raccoon and Penns Neck, 1713–1786. OCLC 866217276 , 1938: "Raccoon Creek is now Swedesboro and Penns Neck is now Churchtown".
  10. ^ A b Thompson Westcott: The Historic Mansions and Buildings of Philadelphia . Porter & Coates, Philadelphia 1877, pp. 62-64 . hdl : 2027 / mdp.39015009405989 .
  11. ↑ Amandus Johnson (Ed.): The Journal and Biography of Nicholas Collin, 1746-1831 . Diary translated from Swedish. The New Jersey Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 1936.
  12. ↑ a b c d Boies Penrose: Review of the book The Journal and Biography of Nicholas Collin by Amandus Johnson. In: Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , 1907, pp. 337-338 .
  13. ↑ "considerable time to amuse myself with my dear mathematics and philosophy." Amandus Johnson: The Journal and Biography of Nicholas Collin, 1746-1831 . Philadelphia, 1936, p. 25. Quoted from: Whitfield J. Bell: (Ed.): Nicholas Collin's Appeal to American Scientists . In: The William and Mary Quarterly 13 (4), p. 520, doi: 10.2307 / 1917022 .
  14. ↑ Collin, Nicholas, 1746-1831, LCCN  n88-064922 .
  15. ^ Nicholas Collin, 1745-1831 . Penn University Archives & Records Center, accessed January 20, 2020.
  16. ^ Michael Vinson: The Society for Political Inquiries: The Limits of Republican Discourse in Philadelphia on the Eve of the Constitutional Convention . In: The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 113 (2), April 1989, pp. 185-205, especially p. 190, JSTOR 20092327 .
  17. ^ Nicholas Collin: Introduction to Vol. The Third: An Essay on Those Inquiries in Natural Philosophy, Which at Present Are Most Beneficial to the United States of North America . In: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society , Volume 3, 1793, pp. Iii-xxvii, doi: 10.2307 / 1004843 .
  18. ^ Whitfield J. Bell: The scientific environment of Philadelphia, 1775-1790 . In: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 92 (1), March 1948, pp. 6-14, JSTOR 3143620 .
  19. ^ Gilbert Chinard: The American Philosophical Society and the World of Science (1768–1800) . In: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 87 (1), The Early History of Science and Learning in America, July 1943, pp. 1-11, JSTOR 984994 .
  20. ^ Nicholas Collin, Uno von Troil: A Brief Account of the Swedish Mission from Its Commencement until Its Cessation . In: The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 16 (3), October 1892, pp. 349-358, JSTOR 20083493 . Reprinted from Book No. 3 of the Records of the Church at Swedesboro , New Jersey.
  21. ^ Nicholas Collin: Observations made at an Early Period on the Climate of the Country about the River Delaware . In: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 1, 1818, pp. 340-352, doi: 10.2307 / 1004921 .
  22. ^ Susan E. Klepp: Demography in Early Philadelphia, 1690-1860 . In: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 133 (2), pp. 85-111, JSTOR 987041 .
  23. ^ Conrad JI Bergendoff: Review of the book The Swedish Church on the Delaware by Christopher Ward. In: Church History 7 (03), 1938, pp. 215-230, especially pp. 225, 229. doi: 10.2307 / 3160563 .
  24. ↑ a b Hannah Collin . Historic Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Preservation Corporation. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  25. ↑ a b Reverend Nicholas Collin . Historic Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Preservation Corporation. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  26. ^ Nicholas Collin: Description of a Speedy Elevator . In: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 4, 1799, pp. 519-525, doi: 10.2307 / 1005127 .
  27. ^ A b Nicholas Collin: Description of a Machine for Saving Persons from the Upper Stories of a House on Fire . In: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society . Volume 4, pp. 143-148., Philadelphia, 1799, doi : 10.2307 / 1005088 . Reprinted in: The Repertory of Arts and Manufactures . Volume 15, G. & T. Wilkie, 1801, pp. 35ff . Quoted from: Johann Heinrich Moritz von Poppe : General rescue book. Or instructions to prevent many life dangers to which people on land and water are exposed and to save them from the inevitable . Verlag der Helwingschen Hofbuchhandlung, Hanover and Pyrmont 1805. pp. 66–68 .
  28. ^ Nicholas Collin: Philological View of Some Very Ancient Words in Several Languages . In: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 4, 1799, pp. 476-509, doi: 10.2307 / 1005125 .
personal data
SURNAME Collin, Nicholas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Collin, Nils (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish pastor and amateur scientist
DATE OF BIRTH August 2, 1746
PLACE OF BIRTH Funbo
DATE OF DEATH October 7, 1831
Place of death Philadelphia