Name Soren Sommerfelt Role Diplomat | Died 2003 | |
Søren Christian Sommerfelt (9 April 1794 – 29 December 1838) was a Norwegian priest and botanist.
He was born at Toten in Oppland, Norway. He was the son of County Governor Christian Sommerfelt (1746-1811) and Anna Sophie Hagerup (1775-1821). In 1811, when he was 15 years of age, he became a student at the University of Copenhagen. He first studied theology, but later focused on science. In 1816, he traveled to Oslo to continue his theological studies and earn his theological degree. In 1818 he was appointed parish priest at Saltdal in Nordland where he served until 1824. He was next assigned assistant pastor at Asker parish in Akershus and subsequently he was vicar in Ringebu parish in Oppland.
As a botanist, he described several new plant species, in particular cryptogams, and he has been described as the first mycologist in Norway. Among his works are Florae lapponicae from 1826, and Physisk-oeconomisk Beskrivelse over Saltdalen i Nordlandene from 1827.