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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Johan Bredman

1770-1859.

Astronomer.

Johan Bredman, born in Oviken in Jämtland, became an associate professor of mathematics in 1801 and in 1802 an assistant professor at the observatory.

At that time, the observatory was in such a state that practical work could not be carried out satisfactorily. All the instruments were from Celsius' time and by the end of the 18th century the observatory was considered to be condemned. Bredman was a professor of astronomy from 1811 to 1841 and also a textbook author.

He is mentioned in Wennerberg's Glunterne regarding "another planet whose name not even Bredman knows" (Gluntarne no.3 Uppsala är bäst). Contemporaries said that Bredman was a skilled lecturer and interested teacher.

Johan Bredman was Norrland's first inspector and benefactor, and was honored with the nation's largest tombstone. He bequeathed money to the observatory and to scholarships for Norrlanders and other charitable causes.

 

Burial site: 0119-0995

Image description: Johan Bredman, oil painting from 1841 by Carl Staaff. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. [The 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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Anders Jonas Ångström

1814-1874.

Physicist.

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

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

Ångström studied the solar spectrum in detail, in particular the Fraunhofer lines. His study Recherches sur le spectre solaire (1868) contained a precise determination of the wavelengths of the Fraunhofer lines. In addition, Ångström made regular observations at several locations in order to obtain a complete picture of magnetic conditions in Sweden.

Ångström was also the first to investigate the aurora borealis spectrometrically. The unit of light wavelength he introduced, corresponding to 0.1 nanometers, was adopted as the international unit and named ångström.

Anders Ångström was professor of physics from 1858 to 1874 and was elected to the Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1850.

In 1996, the Ångström Laboratory was inaugurated on Polacksbacken, where a number of scientific disciplines related to physics and chemistry have their research centers.

 

Burial site: 0113-0666

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