Gustaf Svanberg the Elder

1802-1882.

Astronomer.

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

Between 1833-1835, Svanberg studied terrestrial 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 c. 1860 and the avenue.
Photo: Artist Eric Österlund (1812-1907) / UUB.

The Observatory block 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) which is still in the main dome of the observatory.

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

 

Burial site: 0109-0461B

Image descriptionPortrait of Gustaf Svanberg, circa 1870-1880. Photo: Henri Osti / UUB [The image is cropped].
Click here for an uncropped image

 

 

Johan Bredman

1770–1859.

Astronomer.

Johan Bredman, born in Oviken in Jämtland, became Associate professor in mathematics in 1801 and Assistant professor in 1802 at the observatory.

At that time, the observatory was in such a condition, that the practical work could not be carried out satisfactorily. All the instruments were from Celsius' time and by the end of the 1700s the observatory was considered to have been condemned. Bredman was Professor of astronomy in 1811–1841 and also an author of textbooks.

He is mentioned in Wennerberg's Glunterne regarding "another planet whose name not the Bredman knows" (Gluntarne No. 3 Uppsala is best). It was said that Bredman was a skilled lecturer and an interested teacher.

Johan Bredman was the first inspector of Norrland Nation and was honored with the nation's greatest tombstone. He bequeathed money to the observatory and to scholarships for people from northern part of Sweden and other charitable purposes.

 

Burial site: 0119-0995

Image description: Johan Bredman, oil painting from 1841 by Carl Staaff. Photo: Wikimedia Commons [The image is cropped]
Click here for an uncropped image

 

 

Fredric Mallet

1728-1797.

Astronomer, mathematician.

Fredric Mallet began studying at Uppsala University in 1745 with astronomy and mathematics as main subjects.

In 1754, Mallet started a training trip in Europe, a trip that lasted 28 months. After his return, he was appointed an observer at the Uppsala Observatory on Svartbäcksgatan, a service that he held for 16 years.

By the end of the 1700s, the Celsius observatory had decayed, but the building still remains in central Uppsala. The location in the middle of the city did not make it very suitable for observations. The instruments trembled when horse carriages pulled out on Svartbäcksgatan and the view was obscured by chimney smoke.

Astronomical Observatory, Uppsala. Engraver Fredrik Akrel. Illustration from Busser, Johan B., draft beskrifning on Upsala, Part 2, Uppsala 1769, pp. 112. The house was finished 1741. Photo: UUB.

The same building in 2019, which houses a goldsmith and various university departments. Photo: Henrik Zetterberg.

In 1769, Mallet was commissioned by the Academy of Sciences to study Venus from Pello in the Torne Valley. When Venus passes over the solar disc, was in the past important from a scientific point of view. By studying Venus from several different places on Earth, the researchers managed to determine the distance between the Earth and the sun.

In 1773 Fredric Mallet was appointed Professor of mathematics, a service he held until 1794.

 

Burial site: 0109-0466

Image description: Portrait of Fredric Mallet. Painting by O. Arenius. Photo: Swedish Biographical dictionary / National Archives. [The image is cropped ]
Click here for an uncropped image

 

 

Anders Jonas Ångström

1814–1874.

Physicist.

Anders Jonas Ångström is best known as one of the founders of the optical spectroscopy.

Ångström was the first to observe the spectrum of hydrogen, an observation that formed the basis of the Balmers formula and thus constituted the experimental basis for Bohr's atomic theory.

Ångström studied the solar spectrum in depth, especially the lines of Frauhofer. The Recherches sur le spectre sunaire Study (1868) contained a precise determination of the wavelengths of the lines of Fraunhofer. In addition, Ångström made regular observations in several locations to provide a basis for the complete production of magnetic conditions in Sweden.

Ångström was also the first to investigate the northern lights spectroscopally. The unit for light wavelength, corresponding to 0.1 nanometers, was adopted as an international unit and was named Angstrom.

Anders Ångström was Professor of physics in 1858 – 1874 and was elected to the Academy of Sciences in 1850.

1996 the Ångström laboratory was inaugurated at Polacksbacken, where a number of science disciplines related to physics and chemistry have been given their research centres.

 

Burial site: 0113-0666

Image description: Professor A.J. Ångström, 1862. Photo: Mathias Hansen / UUB.  [The image is cropped]
Click here for an uncropped image