Olaus Rudbeck, painted in 1696 by Martin Mijtens the Elder.

Olaus Rudbeck (also known as Olof Rudbeck the Elder, to distinguish him from his son, and occasionally with the surname Latinized as Olaus Rudbeckius) (1630-1702), Swedish scientist and writer, professor of medicine at Uppsala University and for several periods rector magnificus of the same university. He was the son of Bishop Johannes Rudbeckius, who was personal chaplain to King Gustavus Adolphus, and the father of Olof Rudbeck the Younger, who was ennobled in 1719 (noble family Rudbeck, nr. 1637; the family was ennobled a total of five times). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ... Events March 8 - William III died; Princess Anne Stuart becomes Queen Anne of England, Scotland and Ireland. ... Uppsala University (Swedish Uppsala universitet) is a public university in Uppsala, Sweden. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings. ... Johannes Rudbeckius or Johannes Rudbeck (1581-1646), bishop at Västerås, Sweden, from 1619 until his death, and personal chaplain to King Gustavus II Adolphus (the Great). In 1623 he founded the first gymnasium, a school of secondary education, in Västerås. ... Gustav II Adolf King of Sweden Gustav II Adolf (also known as Gustaf Adolf the Great (Swedish Gustav Adolf den store, Latin Gustavus Adolphus Magnus), or Gustavus II Adolphus; December 9, 1594 – November 6, 1632 O.S.), widely known by the Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus and referred to by contemporary... Olaus Rudbeckius, junior or (1660-1740), Swedish explorer and scientist, son of Olaus Rudbeck Sr. ...

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.^[1] (For other early discoverers of the lymphatic system, see Gasparo Aselli and Jean Pecquet). This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Christina (Kristina) (December 8, 1626 – April 19, 1689), later known as Maria Christina Alexandra and sometimes Count Dohna, was Queen regnant of Sweden from 1632 to 1654. ... Thomas Bartholin (October 20, 1616 - December 4, 1680) was a Danish doctor, mathematician and theologist. ... Gasparo Aselli, or Asellio (1581 - 1626) was an Italian physician noted for the discovery of the lacteal vessels of the lymphatic system. ... Jean Pecquet(1622-1674): French scientist from Dieppe. ...

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. Cupola of St Peters Basilica, Rome In architecture, a cupola consists of a dome-shaped ornamental structure located on top of a larger roof or dome, often used as a lookout or to admit light and provide ventilation. ... Gustavianum, the former main building of Uppsala University, built 1622-1625 and named after King Gustavus Adolphus. ... The anatomical theatre in Leiden in the early 17th century Detail of Gustavianum in Uppsala, showing the cupola housing the anatomical theatre from 1663 An anatomical theatre was an institution used in teaching anatomy at early modern universities. ... Uppsala (older spelling Upsala) is a city in central Sweden, located about 70 km north of Stockholm. ...

Olof Rudbeck and his predecessors Hesiod, Plato, Aristotle, Apollodorus, Tacitus, Odysseus, Ptolemy, Plutarch and Orpheus in an 1689 painting.

Rudbeck was active in many scientific areas, including astronomy, and left many traces still visible in the city of Uppsala today. He was also said to be a good singer with a strong voice. On the personal level, he was said to be very strong-willed. Image File history File links Rudbeck_Atlantis. ... Image File history File links Rudbeck_Atlantis. ... Roman bronze bust, the so-called Pseudo-Seneca, now identified by some as possibly Hesiod Hesiod (Hesiodos, ) was an early Greek poet and rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BC. Hesiod and Homer, with whom Hesiod is often paired, have been considered the earliest Greek poets whose work has survived... PLATO was one of the first generalized Computer assisted instruction systems, originally built by the University of Illinois (U of I) and later taken over by Control Data Corporation (CDC), who provided the machines it ran on. ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Apollodorus was a common name in ancient Greece. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... -1... A medieval artists rendition of Claudius Ptolemaeus Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: ; ca. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... The head of Orpheus, from an 1865 painting by Gustave Moreau. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant Astronomy is the science of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere (such as auroras and cosmic background radiation). ...

Rudbeck also became involved in the rhetoric of the era. Sweden had ascended to a position as a great power in Europe, and as is usual, there was a need for an "intellectual reason" for this power. Rudbeck, partially for this purpose, wrote Atlantica, where he argues that Scandinavia, specifically Sweden, is identical with the sunken Atlantis. One of the hallmarks of contemporary Great power status is permanent membership on the United Nations Security Council. ... Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of a legendary island first mentioned in Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ...

Rudbeck has been called "the first Swede to make a scientific discovery." Unfortunately, much of his work was lost in the fire that destroyed most of Uppsala in 1702. During the course of the fire, Rudbeck himself directed the people of the city, shouting orders from a roof while his house burned down. Shortly after the fire, Rudbeck died. Events March 8 - William III died; Princess Anne Stuart becomes Queen Anne of England, Scotland and Ireland. ...

Alfred Nobel was a descendant of Rudbeck through his daughter Wendela, who married one of her father's former students, Peter Olai Nobelius.   (October 21, 1833, Stockholm, Sweden—December 10, 1896, Sanremo, Italy) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, armaments manufacturer and the inventor of dynamite. ...

See also

• Olof Rudbeck the Younger

Olaus Rudbeckius, junior or (1660-1740), Swedish explorer and scientist, son of Olaus Rudbeck Sr. ...

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.

• King, David. "Finding Atlantis: A True Story of Genius, Madness, and an Extraordinary Quest for a Lost World." Harmony Books, New York, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4752-8.

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.