author
A. G. (Alfred Gabriel) Nathorst
1850–1921
An adventurous Swedish scientist who brought together Arctic exploration and the study of ancient plant life, he helped open up the far north to both geology and paleobotany. His journeys to places like Svalbard and Greenland made him a key figure in polar science around the turn of the twentieth century.
1 Audiobook
Polarforskningen
by A. G. (Alfred Gabriel) Nathorst
About the author
Born in Sweden in 1850, Alfred Gabriel Nathorst became known as an Arctic explorer, geologist, and palaeobotanist. He studied both plants and rocks, then built a career that connected the two by investigating fossil floras from deep geological time.
Nathorst traveled repeatedly in the Arctic, including to Svalbard and Greenland. These expeditions were not just feats of endurance: they fed directly into his scientific work, especially his interest in the plant history of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras.
He later served as director of the Palaeobotanical Museum of the Swedish Academy, and his work earned lasting recognition in both exploration and natural science. Remembered as one of Sweden’s important polar researchers, he died in Stockholm in 1921.