Artedi was born in the province of Angermannia. Intending to become a clergyman, he went, in 1724, to study theology at Uppsala University, but he turned his attention to medicine and natural history, especially ichthyology. In 1728 his countryman Carolus Linnaeus arrived in Uppsala, and a lasting friendship was formed between the two. In 1732 both left Uppsala, Artedi for England, and Linnaeus for Lapland; before parting they reciprocally bequeathed to each other their manuscripts and books in the event of death.
Artedi accidentally drowned at Amsterdam, where he was engaged in cataloguing the collections in Albert Seba, a wealthy Dutchman, who had formed what was perhaps the richest museum of his time. According to agreement, his manuscripts came into the hands of Linnaeus, and his Bibliotheca Ichthyologica and Philosophia Ichihyologica, together with a life of the author, were published at Leiden in 1738.
This article is taken from the 1911 Encyclopaedia BritannicaReference