HASSELQUIST, Frederick (1722-1752), a Swedish traveller and naturalist, was born near Linkoeping in East Gothland, 3d January 1722. He lost his father at an early age, and his uncle, his sole remaining protector, in his thirteenth year, but succeeded by means of private teaching in supporting himself while continuing his education. In 1741 he entered the university of Upsala, where his taste for the study of nature was fostered and developed by Linnaeus, and where in 1747 he obtained licence in medicine, and published a thesis entitled De Viribus Plantarum. On account of the frequently expressed regrets of Linnaeus at the lack of information regarding the natural history of Palestine, Hasselquist resolved to undertake a journey to that country, and a sufficient subscription having been obtained to defray expenses, he, after making himself acquainted with the languages of the Levant, embarked for Smyrna, where he arrived November 26, 1749. He visited parts of Asia Minor, Egypt, Cyprus, and Palestine, and made large natural history collections, but his constitution, naturally weak, give way under the fatigues and anxieties of travel, and he died at Smyrna, February 9, 1752, on his way homewards. His collections reached home in safety, and five years after his death the results of his wanderings were published by Linnaeus under the title Resa till Heliya Landet forättad fraιι ar 1749 till 1752. The work is divided into two parts, the first consisting of the traveller’s journal and letters, and the second of his remarks on the botany, zoology, and mineralogy of the countries through which he passed, with observations on the prevalent diseases and their cure, and the state of industry, commerce, and the arts. It was translated into French and German in 1762, and into ...