Olaus Rudbeck

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Olaus Rudbeck
Olaus Rudbeck, painted in 1696 by Martin Mijtens the Elder.
Born13 September 1630
Västerås
Died12 December 1702 (age 72)
Uppsala
NationalitySwedish
Scientific career
FieldsMedicine
InstitutionsUppsala University

Olaus Rudbeck (also known as Olof Rudbeck the Elder, to distinguish him from his son, and occasionally with the surname

Gustavus Adolphus, and the father of botanist Olof Rudbeck the Younger. Rudbeck is primarily known for his contributions in two fields: human anatomy and linguistics, but he was also accomplished in many other fields including music and botany. He established the first botanical garden in Sweden at Uppsala, called Rudbeck's Garden, but which was renamed a hundred years later for his son's student, the botanist Carl Linnaeus
.

Human anatomy

Born into the

Gasparo Aselli and Jean Pecquet
).

Rudbeck's research led to the Queen's support of his career. To facilitate his studies of human anatomy, he had a

Theatrum anatomicum, where dissection could be carried out in front of students. The cupola still remains and is a landmark in Uppsala. The "Gustavianum" stands in front of the cathedral, and is still part of the university.[2]

Historical linguistics

An illustration from 1689 in Olof Rudbeck's book Atlantica where he shows himself surrounded by Hesiod, Plato, Aristotle, Apollodorus, Tacitus, Odysseus, Ptolemy, Plutarch and Orpheus.

Between 1679 and 1702, Rudbeck dedicated himself to contributions in historical-linguistics patriotism, writing a 3,000-page treatise in four volumes called Atlantica (Atland eller Manheim in Swedish) where he purported to prove that Sweden was Atlantis, the cradle of civilization, and Swedish the original language of Adam from which Latin and Hebrew had evolved.[3] His work was criticized by several Scandinavian authors, including the Danish professor Ludvig Holberg, and the Swedish author and physician Andreas Kempe, both of whom wrote satires based on Rudbeck's writings. His work was later used by Denis Diderot in the article "Etymologie" in Encyclopédie as a cautionary example of deceptive linking of etymology with mythical history.[4]

David King, in his biography of Rudbeck, notes that he developed a system for measuring the age of old monuments and graves by the thickness of the humus accumulated over them – which, though many of his conclusions were erroneous, anticipated the methods of modern archaeology and was far in advance of most historians and antiquarians of his time.[5]

Despite the criticism targeting his linguistic theories and despite the

Sami and Hebrew languages to his father's long list of fantastical linguistic relationships.[6] A nephew of Olaus the Elder, Petter Rudebeck, also wrote antiquarian books going even further, purporting to locate the scene of the Trojan War and ancient city of Troy
in southern Sweden.

The above-mentioned David King noted that, while specific conclusions of father and son Rudbeck about the relationships of various languages to each other were disproven, they anticipated the later systematic study of Indo-European languages, and the scientific proof that languages distant from each other geographically and historically are indeed related.

Legacy

Rudbeck was active in many scientific areas, including astronomy, and left many traces still visible in the city of Uppsala today.

During the course of a fire that destroyed most of Uppsala in 1702, a large portion of Rudbeck's writings was lost. Rudbeck himself directed the people of the city, shouting orders from a roof while his house burned down. He died the same year, shortly after the fire, and was buried in Uppsala Cathedral at the transept. (Since then, Swedish monarchs have frequently been crowned over his grave.)

The Nobel family, including Ludvig Nobel, the founder of Branobel, and Alfred Nobel, the founder of the Nobel Prizes, was a descendant of Rudbeck through his daughter Wendela, who married one of her father's former students, Peter Olai Nobelius.

The plant genus Rudbeckia was named by the botanist Carl Linnaeus in honor of both Rudbeck and his son.

See also

References

  1. ^ Eriksson, G. (2004). Svensk medicinhistorisk tidskrift, 2004;8(1):39-44. In Swedish. English abstract at Olaus Rudbeck as scientist and professor of medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  2. ^ Nyström, Gunnar (1964). Olaus Rudbeck's anatomical theatre in the "Gustavianum". Uppsala: Almqvist & Wicksells.
  3. ISBN 3-11-016735-2
    , pp. 1125-1126.
  4. ISBN 3-11-014876-5
    , p. 109.
  5. ^ King 2005, Epilogue.
  6. S2CID 143910175
    .

External links

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