Niels Ryberg Finsen
Niels Ryberg Finsen | |
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Phototherapy | |
Awards | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1903) Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh (1904) |
Niels Ryberg Finsen (15 December 1860 – 24 September 1904) was a physician and scientist. In 1903, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology "in recognition of his contribution to the treatment of diseases, especially lupus vulgaris, with concentrated light radiation, whereby he has opened a new avenue for medical science."[1]
Biography
Niels Finsen was born in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, as the second-oldest of four children. His father was Hannes Finsen , who belonged to an Icelandic family with traditions reaching back to the 10th century, and his mother was Johanne Formann from Falster, Denmark.[2]
The family moved to Tórshavn from Iceland in 1858 when his father was given the position of Landfoged.[3] When Niels was four years old his mother died, and his father married her cousin Birgitte Kirstine Formann, with whom he had six children. In 1871 his father was made Amtmand of the Faroe Islands. His father was a member of the Faroese parliament for 12 years, and his older brother Olaf similarly became a member of parliament, for five years, as well as the first mayor of the capital, Tórshavn.[4][circular reference][5][circular reference]
Finsen got his early education in
Studies in medicine
In 1882, Finsen moved to
The Finsen Institute was founded in 1896, with Finsen serving as its first director. It was later merged into Copenhagen University Hospital and currently serves as a cancer research laboratory that specializes in proteolysis.
Finsen suffered from
Finsen won the
Personal life
Finsen married Ingeborg Balslev (1868–1963) on 29 December 1892.
Finsen's health began to fail in the mid-1880s. He had symptoms of heart trouble and suffered from ascites and general weakness. The sickness disabled his body but not his mind, and he continued to work from his wheelchair. He died in Copenhagen on 24 September 1904. Accounts of his funeral can be found at the National Library of Medicine.[11]
Memorials
The Finsen Laboratory at Copenhagen University Hospital is named in his honor. Finsensvej in Frederiksberg is also named in his honor and so was the Finsen Power Station, which was located on its north side.
A large memorial to Finsen designed by Rudolph Tegner was installed next to Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen in 1909. It shows a standing naked man flanked by two kneeling naked women reaching up to the sky, with a third behind his back. The sculpture is entitled Mod lyset (Towards the Light), and symbolised Finsen's principal scientific theory that sunlight can have healing properties. It is situated on the corner of Blegdamsvej and Nørre Allé.[12]
In Tórshavn there is also a memorial to Finsen and one of the city's main streets, Niels Finsens gøta, bears his name. Kommunuskúlin, the old public school in central Tórshavn is rebuilt for student housing with the new name Finsen.[13]
References
- ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1903". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB. 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-10-22.
- ^ a b c "Niels Ryberg Finsen - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB. 2014. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
- ^ "Landfoged". Den Store Danske (in Danish). 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
- ^ da:Olaf Finsen (apoteker)
- ^ da:Hannes Finsen (stiftamtmand)
- ^ Nielsen, Louis (2002). "Niels Ryberg Finsen: Danmarks første Nobelpristager" [Niels Ryberg Finsen: Denmark's first Nobel Prize winner]. Rostras Forlag (in Danish). Retrieved 2015-11-08.
- ^ "Niels Finsen". Archived from the original on 2018-01-07. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
- ^ "Niels Ryberg Finsen – Danmarks første Nobelpristager".
- ^ http://www.regensianersamfundet.dk/medlemsbladet_arkiv/Regensen/1992/Regensen_1992.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- PMID 22855977.
- ^ "Memoir of Funeral of Niels Ryberg Finsen, and Clippings 1904". National Library of Medicine.
- ^ "Mod Lyset" [Towards the Light]. Copenhagen Municipality (in Danish). Retrieved 2013-09-17.
- ^ "Tey fyrstu eru flutt í Finsen".
External links
- Works by or about Niels Ryberg Finsen at Internet Archive
- Niels Ryberg Finsen on Nobelprize.org
- Niels Finsen, an engine of our ingenuity
- An extensive biography on Niels Finsen (in Danish only)
- The Finsen Institute at Copenhagen University Hospital
- Our Friend, the Sun: Images of Light Therapeutics from the Osler Library Collection, c. 1901-1944. Digital exhibition by the Osler Library of the History of Medicine, McGill University
- Niels Ryberg Finsen at Find a Grave