Olaus Rudbeck (also known as Olof Rudbeck the Elder, to distinguish
him from his son, and occasionally with the surname Latinized as Olaus
Rudbeckius) (12 December 1630 â€" 17 September 1702) was a Swedish
scientist and writer, professor of medicine at Uppsala University and
for several periods rector magnificus of the same university. He was
born in Västerås, the son of Bishop Johannes Rudbeckius, who was
personal chaplain to King 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.Rudbeck was one of the
pioneers in the study of lymphatic vessels. According to his
supporters in Sweden, he was the first to discover the lymphatic
system and is documented as having shown his findings at the court of
Queen Christina of Sweden in the Spring of 1652. However, he did not
publish anything about it until the fall of 1653, after Thomas
Bartholin, a Danish scientist, had published a description of a
similar discovery of his own. (For other early discoverers of the
lymphatic system, see 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 cupola built on top of Gustavianum,
a university edifice, and in it was built an arena-like 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.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. 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.
him from his son, and occasionally with the surname Latinized as Olaus
Rudbeckius) (12 December 1630 â€" 17 September 1702) was a Swedish
scientist and writer, professor of medicine at Uppsala University and
for several periods rector magnificus of the same university. He was
born in Västerås, the son of Bishop Johannes Rudbeckius, who was
personal chaplain to King 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.Rudbeck was one of the
pioneers in the study of lymphatic vessels. According to his
supporters in Sweden, he was the first to discover the lymphatic
system and is documented as having shown his findings at the court of
Queen Christina of Sweden in the Spring of 1652. However, he did not
publish anything about it until the fall of 1653, after Thomas
Bartholin, a Danish scientist, had published a description of a
similar discovery of his own. (For other early discoverers of the
lymphatic system, see 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 cupola built on top of Gustavianum,
a university edifice, and in it was built an arena-like 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.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. 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.
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