Gustaf Svanberg the Elder

1802-1882.

Astronomer.

Gustaf Svanberg was born in Botilsäter in Värmland and became a student in Uppsala in 1819. He first studied classical languages, but switched to mathematics and astronomy and was professor of astronomy 1842-1875.

Between 1833-1835 Svanberg studied earth magnetism in Germany. As a member of parliament, Svanberg succeeded in obtaining funding for a modern observatory in Uppsala, which was built in the area between Rackarbacken and the old fjärdingstullen, the area now known as Observatorieparken.

The observatory ca 1860 and the avenue.
Photo: Artist Eric Österlund (1812-1907) / UUB.

The Observatory neighborhood before 1890, view from the north.
Photo: Henri Osti / UUB.

The observatory was completed and inaugurated in 1853 and received its first main instrument, a 24 cm refractor from Steinheil in Munich. It was replaced in 1893 by the double refractor (36/33 cm) that is still in the main dome of the observatory.

Gustaf Svanberg organized regular meteorological observations from 1865. The Department of Meteorology moved to the Ångström Laboratory in 2000, but the "Old Observatory", as it is called, is still used by amateur astronomers and for public displays.

 

Burial site: 0109-0461B

Image description: Portrait of Gustaf Svanberg, ca 1870-1880. Photo: Henri Osti / UUBThe image is cropped]
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Adolf Noreen

1854-1925.

Linguists.

Adolf Noreen was born in Östra Ämtervik in Värmland and defended his thesis Fryksdalsmålets ljudlära in 1877. The thesis deals with the dialect from his homeland and was the first dialect description based on scientific principles.

Noreen published handbooks on language history, for example on Old Icelandic in Altisländische Grammatik (1884) and on Old Swedish in Altschwedische Grammatik (1904).

In his major work Vårt språk (1903-1924) he sets out his basic view of language and presents a blueprint for grammar. Noreen was also one of the driving forces behind the spelling reform of 1906.

Between 1887-1919 Adolf Noreen was professor of Nordic languages, was elected member of the Academy of Sciences in 1902, member of the Academy of Sciences in 1917 and became member of the Swedish Academy in 1919.

Together with Johan August Lundell, he founded Upsala Enskilda Läroverk (now Lundellska Skolan) in 1892. Adolf Noreen was a very popular teacher and worked in a time that can be considered a golden age of linguistics.

 

Burial site: 0115-0823

Image description: Adolf Noreen, Uppsala ca 1880-ca 1890. Photo: Heinrich Osti / UUBThe image is cropped]
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Cristopher Jacob Boström

1797-1866.

Philosopher.

Christopher Jacob Boström was born in Piteå and became a student in Uppsala in 1815.

From 1842 to 1863, he was professor of practical philosophy in Uppsala and was Sweden's most influential philosopher in the 19th century. He built up a metaphysical system with roots in German and Swedish idealism. Boström was a persuasive lecturer and excelled in speeches.

Boström's so-called rational idealism, with its strong emphasis on the individual's duties in a moral and rational society, came to exert a profound influence on thinking in Sweden in the latter half of the 19th century.

Boströmianism, named after its originator, was the only original philosophical system to emerge in Sweden in the 19th century and, through Boström's disciples, came to dominate Swedish university philosophy throughout the latter part of the 19th century.

His disciples included Sigurd Ribbing, Yngve Sahlin and Axel Nyblaeus. Boström's niece is Ebba Boström, founder of the Samaritan Home. She is also buried in the Old Cemetery.

 

Burial site: 0119-0995

Image description: Christopher Jacob Boström, 1865. Photo: Litografiskt allehanda, fifth edition. Sigrid Flodin's publishing house. / Wikimedia Commons. [The image is cropped]
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Frithiof Holmgren

1831-1897.

Doctors.

Frithiof Holmgren established Sweden's first physiological laboratory in 1862 and became the country's first professor of physiology at the age of 33. He was also one of the most prominent teachers of his time at Uppsala University.

He became a world-famous scientist with the discovery of the retinal blood flow in the eye.

The studies of color blindness made Holmgren internationally known and in 1874 he described his method of using differently colored "sequined dolls", the so-called wool yarn test, to detect color blindness.

The method was of great practical importance for people in signal service, such as railway staff and seamen. A train accident in Lagerlunda in 1875 was suspected to have been caused by the inability of a dead engineer to distinguish between red and green. No one had considered that color vision could be important for railway personnel.

The equipment used by Holmgren to discover the retinal current, the electrical response of the retina to light. The equipment consists of a mirror galvanometer and a light catcher with a clockwork that drives the mirror. Photo: Museum of Medical History in Uppsala.

Sefirgarns dolls for carrying out the test of color vision developed by Holmgren, which became compulsory for all those to be employed in rail and maritime traffic. Photo: Museum of Medical History in Uppsala.

A more macabre study undertaken by Holmgren focused on whether beheading was a painless method of execution. Holmgren therefore attended four beheadings to examine the method from a physiological point of view. According to Holmgren, the case studies showed that beheading as a method met the requirements of painlessness. When the study was completed, he was also present at the execution of the so-called Alfta murderer in Gävle in 1893.

Holmgren also participated in the debates in Verdandi, and his radical stance was reflected in his dictation to the minutes of the consistory:

"I hold freedom of thought to be one of man's most precious privileges, and the university in which the principle of freedom of thought is not paramount does not, in my opinion, fulfill its task. To educate the young people studied to become thinking men should, in my opinion, be one of the main tasks of the university".

Frithiof Holmgren also emphasized the importance of physical education and founded the Studenternas Sharpshooting Association, the Studenternas Gymnastics Association and was chairman of the folk dance association Philochoros and promoter of the Uppsala Swimming Society. 

 

Burial site: 0125-1141

Image description: Frithiof Holmgren, year unknown. Photo: Unknown photographer / UUBThe image is cropped]
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Anders Gustaf Ekeberg

1767-1813.

Chemist.

Anders Gustaf Ekeberg was the son of shipbuilder Joseph Eric Ekeberg and Hedvig Ulrica Kilberg.

In 1784, Ekeberg enrolled at Uppsala University, where he was taught by Carl Peter Thunberg, among others. After graduation and study trips, Ekeberg became an associate professor of chemistry in 1794.

In 1799, Ekeberg was elected to the Royal Academy of Sciences. In 1802, he discovered the element tantalum (Ta).

An explosion in the early 1800s left Ekeberg blind in one eye.

One of Ekeberg's scientific discoveries was a method for making strong, clear and translucent porcelain. He took the secret of this method to his grave.

His friends carved his name on a stone pillar in the cemetery wall and three words in Latin: Chemico (he was a chemist) Amicitia (friendship) Memor (memory) and the year of his death in Roman letters MDCCCXIII. Photo: Henrik Zetterberg.

The picture shows the Ekeberg Prize awarded by the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center. Photo: TIC.

In recognition of Ekeberg's pioneering work, an award was established in 2017 by the TIC (Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center), to promote the knowledge and understanding of tantalum. The award was named the Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize ("Ekeberg Prize") in his memory.

 

Burial site: 0101-0030

Image description: Portrait of Anders Gustaf Ekeberg from Mellin, Gustaf Henrik (ed.) 427 porträtter af namnkunniga svenske män och fruntimmer, Stockholm, 1847. Photo: LIBRIS-ID:1579474The image is cropped]
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Fredrik Tamm

1847-1905.

Linguists.

Fredrik Tamm was born in Tveta in Södermanland and in 1875 he defended his thesis on Swedish etymology, which is the study of the historical origins of words, and compiled the Etymological Swedish Dictionary up to and including the letter K.

Tamm devoted himself in particular to etymological work and Swedish dictionary theory. For many years Tamm deputized for the ailing professor of Swedish language, Frits Läffler. Between 1883-1898 Tamm was acting professor of Swedish language for a total of ten years.

Uppsala University tried to establish a professorship for Tamm, but it was not granted by the Royal Majesty. Maj:t, probably because at the time there was already a professor of Nordic languages and one of Swedish. In 1897, Tamm was instead given the name, honor and dignity of professor.

Soon afterwards, Tamm's wife passed away and he was diagnosed with facial cancer. The surgery he underwent left his speech severely impaired.

On his birthday, March 30, 1905, he died and Nathan Söderblom gave the eulogy in which it was said:

"No one could be a better listener than he, whether it was for funny stories or scientific lectures, which he faithfully attended to the end whenever they were offered".

 

Burial site: 0132-1406

Image description: Fredrik Tamm with his wife Augusta Josefina Elisabeth Lundqvist, Uppsala 1894. Photo: Alfred Dahlgren / UUBThe image is cropped]
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Herman Baumbach

1857-1931.

Student.

Herman Baumbach was born near Grästorp and is usually called the most famous lintel. He came to Uppsala in 1876 and graduated at the age of 61 after 84 semesters of study. He belonged to the Västgöta nation from 1876 until his death in 1931. 

Pencil drawing of Herman Baumbach, drawn by Carl Lindorm Möllersvärd. Photo: UUB.

Booklet with 20 drawings made by the artist Lindorm Möllerswärd. The motifs are famous profiles in Uppsala, including Herman Baumbach. Photo: Anja Szyszkiewicz / Upplandsmuseet.

Baumbach's studies focused on Latin, German and English and he had high grades. With a plum top, a large overcoat and tippy galoshes, Baumbach became a fixture of street life.

 

Burial site: 0119-1013

Image description: Herman Baumbach, Uppsala ca 1876-ca 1885. Photo: Heinrich Osti / UUBThe image is cropped]
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Fredric Mallet

1728-1797.

Astronomer, mathematician.

Fredric Mallet enrolled at Uppsala University in 1745, majoring in astronomy and mathematics.

In 1754, Mallet embarked on an educational tour of Europe, a journey that lasted 28 months. After his return, he was appointed observer at the Uppsala Observatory on Svartbäcksgatan in the St. Per district, a position he held for 16 years.

By the end of the 18th century, the Celsius Observatory had fallen into disrepair, but the building still stands in central Uppsala. Its location in the middle of the city did not make it particularly suitable for observations. The instruments trembled as the horse-drawn carriages moved along Svartbäcksgatan and the view was obscured by chimney smoke.

Astronomical Observatory, Uppsala. Engraver Fredrik Akrel. Illustration from Busser, Johan B., Utkast till beskrifning om Upsala, del 2, Uppsala 1769, p. 112. The house was completed in 1741. Photo: UUB.

The building in 2019, which at the time of the photo housed a goldsmith and various university departments. Photo: Henrik Zetterberg.

In 1769, Mallet was commissioned by the Academy of Sciences to study the transit of Venus from Pello in the Torne Valley. Venusian transits, when Venus passes over the solar disk, used to be important from a scientific point of view. By studying the passage of Venus from several different locations on Earth, scientists were able to determine the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

In 1773, Fredric Mallet was appointed Professor of Mathematics, a position he held until 1794.

 

Burial site: 0109-0466

Image description: Portrait of Fredric Mallet. Painting by O. Arenius. Photo: Henrik Zetterberg. [The image is cropped]
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Adolph Murray

1751-1803.

Anatomist, surgeon.

In 1764 Murray enrolled at Uppsala University. At first he devoted himself to botany, but became increasingly interested in anatomy and dissections.

His anatomy studies led to a thesis in 1771, which he defended under Linnaeus' supervision. In 1772 Murray was awarded a doctorate in medicine in Uppsala. After his thesis, Murray embarked on an educational journey in Europe and was appointed professor of anatomy at Uppsala University in 1774.

He returned to Uppsala in 1776 and took up his post. In 1778 Murray became Uppsala's first professor of surgery. In his scientific work he published a number of treatises and many other writings.

A notable contribution in Swedish is Avhandling om anatomiens framsteg i nyare tiden( Treatise on the progress of anatomy in recent times), which constituted his extensive presidential address to the Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1794 when he became its president.

Page from lecture notes. Murray is the author. Photo: UUB.

Murray's amputation tools for soft tissue and bone cutting. The picture also shows a treatise by Murray from 1798. Photo: Urban Josefsson, Museum of Medical History.

The Museum of Medical History in Uppsala houses a unique collection of surgical and gynecological instruments collected by Adolph Murray. Letters between Murray and Linnaeus are preserved at Uppsala University.

 

Burial site: 0109-0461A

Image description: Adolph Murray, ca 1787-ca 1835. Engraver, Erik Åkerland. Photo: UUBThe image is cropped]
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Margit Sahlin

1914-2003.

Priest, theologian, author.

Margit Sahlin was one of Sweden's first three female priests and was ordained in 1960 after the Church of Sweden opened its doors to female priests by a decision of the Church Council and a new law was passed in 1958 and came into force in 1959.

Before that, she had acquired a broad academic background and defended her doctoral thesis in Romance languages on the ecclesiastical dance and the folk dance song, La Carole médiévale et ses rapports avec l´église (The Medieval Dance and its Relations with the Church ). As early as 1940, her thesis was interdisciplinary.

Sahlin initiated the creation of the Catherine Foundation and was its director for a total of 34 years. The Foundation is described as a meeting place for dialogue between church and society.

Sahlin was secretary of the Central Council of the Church of Sweden from 1945 to 1970 and was awarded an honorary doctorate in theology in Uppsala in 1978.

In the 1970s, she was also vicar of the Engelbrekt parish in Stockholm. She pioneered the formation of diocesan women's councils around the country and their umbrella organization, the Church Women's Council (now Women in the Church of Sweden).

Among the many books Margit Sahlin has written are Evangelization (1947), Man and Woman in Christ's Church (1950), The Ministry of the Word in a Changing World (1959), Time for a Rethink (1980), With Peter (1982), What God is Like (1985), The Secret Book. Reading the Bible Today (1994) and Jesus. The Secret of God (1999).

The Margit Sahlin Academy was established in 2015 and is a platform for the exchange of views between research, society, culture and the church in the spirit of Margit Sahlin.

 

Burial site: 0154-0137

Image description: Margit Sahlin at her summer house in Dalarna, unknown year. Photo: Ulf Palm. [The image is cropped]
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