Georg Christian Oeder

Georg Christian Edler von Oldenburg Oeder was a German-Danish botanist, medical doctor, economist and social reformer, born in Ansbach in 1728. He studied medicine at Goettingen under Albrecht von Haller and settled as a doctor in Schleswig until the Danish king called him to Copenhagen in 1751. Appointed royal professor of botany, he soon led the installation of a new botanic garden and from 1753 directed the publication of the monumental plate work Flora Danica, which covered the plants of the Danish crown lands. He visited the mountain regions of Norway in 1758 to 1760, built up a large botanical library, and sat on commissions for agrarian reform and state finances, since botany and economy were then closely linked. His name is particularly associated with starting the Flora Danica. He died in 1791.