Nils von Rosén Rosenstein

in Swedish

Nils von Rosén Rosenstein

1706-1773

Nils Rosén knighted Rosén von Rosenstein is considered one of the great pioneers in Swedish medicine. He is buried in Uppsala Cathedral.

In connection with the 300th anniversary of his birth, Uppsala University organized a conference to pay tribute to the father of Swedish pediatrics.

Quote from the press release

He laid the foundation for a new, modern medical education that has essentially survived into the 21st century. He also advocated for the prevention and early treatment of disease. This led to conflict with the clergy, who believed that the course of disease was an expression of God's will and therefore could not be changed.

Nils Rosén von Rosenstein was the personal physician to three Swedish kings: Frederick I, Adolf Frederick and (the future) Gustav III. He discovered, practiced and spread radically new and controversial ideas on how to stop or mitigate the course of disease.

In 1753 he published his first article on childhood diseases and in 1764 Notices on Childhood Diseases and Their Remedies was published. The latter is considered the world's first real textbook on pediatrics. It is available in a new edition and can be borrowed via Libris↗. It also contains a longer text about his life..

Although we have difficulty understanding it, by the middle of the 18th century one in five children died before the age of one. The church, which has a long tradition of opposing scientific progress, had no problem finding priests who believed that Nils Rosén von Rosenstein was interfering with God's order..

More about his work can be read in Irene Sjöberg's biography 'Nils Rosén von Rosenstein - The Man Who Extended Human Life' () 'Nils Rosén von Rosenstein - Mannen som förlängde människolivet').

Friend, colleague and competitor of Linnaeus

Nils Rosén von Rosenstein was almost the same age as Linnaeus by a year. Michel Adencreutz has written a 5-point essay at the Department of Basic Biology about their background and relationship over the years. Read paper as a Pdf.

In connection with a fight over a professorship, Linnaeus is said to have become so angry with Nils Rosén that he challenged him to a duel. There was no fight, but even at that time, the academy was not the calm workplace that they sometimes want us to believe. Which we don't believe anyway.

References

• About BiBB, a media company and an encyclopedia 4.0
• Irene Sjöberg. 'Nils Rosén von Rosenstein - Mannen som förlängde människolivet' | Alfred Flaum, Lasarettet i Lund 1768-1968
• Nils Rosén von Rosenstein, Wikipedia
• Text: Johan Schlasberg

Published: 2010.05 Updated: 2025.06.16

Kategorier 20 Historical persons 45 Lund 16

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