Peter Thonning

Peter Thonning (9 October 1775 – 29 January 1848) was a Danish medical doctor and botanist.

Biography Peter Thonning's map of the Danish establishments on the Gold Coast, copied in 1818 by P. J. Hjort. Peter Thonning was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of Rasmus Andersen Thonning (1740–1817) and Dorothea Spendrup (1755–1835). He became a student in 1794 and studied medicine at the Metropolitanskolen.

Thonning tutored Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Denmark (1792–1863) from 1804 to 1810. He served as secretary of the General Customs Board in 1810 and from 1812 also secretary of the Canal, Port and Lighthouse Directorate . He was a member of this executive board in 1815–16. In 1829, he joined the executive board of the Natural History Museum of Denmark and held this position until his death.