Israel Acrelius

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Israel Acrelius (December 4, 1714-April 25, 1800) was a noted Lutheran missionary clergyman. He was born in Oster-Aker, Sweden, in 1714 to Johan and Sara Acrelius.

He attended Uppsala University, and was ordained in 1743. He served as the pastor of churches in Riala, Sweden beginning in 1745, leaving to take a similar post in Wilmington, Delaware, beginning in 1749. He served simultaneously as both pastor and provost to the Swedish congregations in New Sweden. He learned the English language, provided aid to German Lutherans in Pennsylvania, and made notable zoological, botanical, and geological collections. He returned to Sweden in 1756, and became the pastor of a church in Fellingsboro in 1758. Shortly thereafter, in 1759, he published his History of New Sweden, which dealt with the religious and secular history of the area. He died in 1800.