Erik Laxmann
Finland Swedish explorer (1737-1796)
Erik Gustavovich Laxmann (Russian: Эрик (Кирилл) Густавович Лаксман) (July 27, 1737 – January 6, 1796) was a Finnish-Swedish clergyman, explorer and natural scientist born in Savonlinna (Nyslott) in Finland, then part of Sweden. He is remembered today for his taxonomic work on the fauna of Siberia and for his attempts to establish relations between Imperial Russia and Tokugawa Japan.
In 1757, Laxmann started his studies at the Royal Academy of Turku (Åbo) and was subsequently ordained a Lutheran priest in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia.
Siberia
In 1764, he was appointed as a preacher in a small parish in Barnaul in Southwestern Siberia, whence he undertook a number of exploratory journeys, reaching Irkutsk, Baikal, Kyakhta and the border to China. His collection of material on the fauna of Siberia made him famous in scientific circles.
Irkutsk
In 1780, Laxmann settled in Irkutsk, where he would spend much of the rest of his life. In 1782, Laxmann founded a museum in Irkutsk, which is the oldest in Siberia.
Laxmann also ran a glass factory in a suburb of Irkutsk, around 6 versts (~6 kilometers) away from the center of the city with a famous merchant Alexander Andreyevich Baranov as a business partner; the factory was roughly 36 metres (20 ken) square. Products were not only sold domestically, but also to northeastern China.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Erik Laxmann” is finland Swedish explorer (1737-1796). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Erik, Laxmann and Finland, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “finland Swedish explorer (1737-1796)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 15, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q938534. VIAF identifies the subject as 25754766. The Library of Congress control number is no96001232. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1737, 1796, 1757 and 1764.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Erik Laxmann”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Erik Laxmann primary sources, Erik Laxmann archive and Erik research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Erik Laxmann”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Erik Laxmann” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.