Peter Artedi

Who was Peter Artedi?

Peter Artedi or Petrus Arctaedius was a Swedish naturalist and is known as the "father of Ichthyology."

Artedi was born in Anundsjö in the province of Ångermanland. Intending to become a clergyman, he went, in 1724, to study theology at Uppsala University, but he turned his attention to medicine and natural history, especially fishes. In 1728 his countryman Carolus Linnaeus arrived in Uppsala, and a lasting friendship was formed between the two. In 1732 both left Uppsala, Artedi for England, and Linnaeus for Lappland; before parting they reciprocally bequeathed to each other their manuscripts and books in the event of death.

Artedi accidentally drowned at Amsterdam, where he was engaged in cataloguing the collections of Albertus Seba, a wealthy Dutchman, who had formed what was perhaps the richest museum of his time. According to agreement, his manuscripts came into the hands of Linnaeus, and his Bibliotheca Ichthyologica and Philosophia Ichthyologica, together with a life of the author, were published at Leiden in 1738 under the title "Ichthyologia sive opera omnia de piscibus ..." .

Artedi was buried in a pauper's grave in St Anthony's churchyard in Amsterdam on 2 October 1735. His grave was never marked and the churchyard site has since been appropriated for other purposes. An epitaph, written in Latin by Anders Celsius, and translated into English by George Shaw, is known because it was inscribed on the back flyleaf of Linnaeus's own copy of "Ichthyologia":