(which had been approved by Rosén, now Dean at the Faculty of Medicine) was
defended on February 25, 1741, a day that few would forget. The nature of the
thesis attracted a large audience and the defense act was the noisiest in the history of
the university [16]. The first hour was calm, but as the second opponent, theologian
and later Archbishop Magnus Beronius (1692–1775), entered the stage, the scene
changed. Beronius attacked Wallerius and was often far from the subject. He also
refused to let Wallerius answer, and finally, the Dean, Rosén, had to intervene. This
resulted in a quarrel between Rosén and Beronius. When Wallerius finally was
allowed to speak, he was so angry that he was stomping his feet and beating the
table with his fists. The quarrel ended in an uproar where Linnaeus’ supporters in
the audience ripped the copies of Wallerius dissertation into pieces. Needless to say,
it was Linnaeus who was appointed professor. Wallerius’ thesis also criticised a
paper on Sal natron by apothecary Julius Salberg (1680–1753), an apostle of
Hiärne [17], which was the start of a 6-year-long debate in a series of papers and
pamphlets between the two men. Wallerius’ dissertation was officially defended by
Johan Anders Darelius (1718–1780) who, interestingly enough, later studied under
Linnaeus, although it appears that Linnaeus was rather cold against his student [18].
Darelius became a physician and was later ennobled and took the name af Darelli.
When Scheele took his apothecary exam (Sect. 19.4), af Darelli was on the
examination board.
In 1747 and 1748, Wallerius published two books, Mineralogia and Hydrologia.
Mineralogia was an attempt to organise the mineral kingdom in a more scientific
way than Linnaeus had done in his Systema naturae. It was an improvement but
was inferior to the work presented by Cronstedt a decade later (Sect. 25.7). In the
book Hydrologia, Wallerius took his organising skills to the extreme. Here he
attempted to find a system of classification for different types of water, such as
seawater, rainwater, lake water, etc., all based on superficial observations.
In the late 1740s, the university started to realise the importance of experimental
physics, and as both the universities in Lund and Åbo had chairs in physics, it was
found unacceptable that Uppsala had no professor in physics [19]. The idea was to
withdraw another professorship to free resources for the new chair. There were
several alternatives, and while trying to avoid the merge of the chairs in Greek and
oriental languages, bishop Samuel Troilius (1706–1764; father to Uno von Troil;
Sect. 7.3) suggested, on February 18, 1749, that a chair in chemistry also should be
established. The university was positive, the arguments being that the Faculty of
Medicine did not take the chemistry teaching seriously and that mining students had
to travel abroad to obtain the important knowledge in chemistry. To free resources,
the chairs in poetry and oriental languages (which in reality only included Hebrew)
were to be withdrawn. The Royal Council approved the plans on February 23,
1750. The appointment of Klingenstierna (Sect. 1.2) as a professor in physics was,
of course, the natural choice.
Wallerius was the only applicant for the chair in chemistry. Attempts were made
to recruit Georg Brandt or Anton von Swab, but they did not apply [20]. Thus, on
July 17, 1750, Wallerius was appointed professor of chemistry. Wallerius took the
appointment seriously, and his work would set the stage for Bergman and Scheele.
9.1 Wallerius—The First Chemistry Professor in Sweden
115
defended on February 25, 1741, a day that few would forget. The nature of the
thesis attracted a large audience and the defense act was the noisiest in the history of
the university [16]. The first hour was calm, but as the second opponent, theologian
and later Archbishop Magnus Beronius (1692–1775), entered the stage, the scene
changed. Beronius attacked Wallerius and was often far from the subject. He also
refused to let Wallerius answer, and finally, the Dean, Rosén, had to intervene. This
resulted in a quarrel between Rosén and Beronius. When Wallerius finally was
allowed to speak, he was so angry that he was stomping his feet and beating the
table with his fists. The quarrel ended in an uproar where Linnaeus’ supporters in
the audience ripped the copies of Wallerius dissertation into pieces. Needless to say,
it was Linnaeus who was appointed professor. Wallerius’ thesis also criticised a
paper on Sal natron by apothecary Julius Salberg (1680–1753), an apostle of
Hiärne [17], which was the start of a 6-year-long debate in a series of papers and
pamphlets between the two men. Wallerius’ dissertation was officially defended by
Johan Anders Darelius (1718–1780) who, interestingly enough, later studied under
Linnaeus, although it appears that Linnaeus was rather cold against his student [18].
Darelius became a physician and was later ennobled and took the name af Darelli.
When Scheele took his apothecary exam (Sect. 19.4), af Darelli was on the
examination board.
In 1747 and 1748, Wallerius published two books, Mineralogia and Hydrologia.
Mineralogia was an attempt to organise the mineral kingdom in a more scientific
way than Linnaeus had done in his Systema naturae. It was an improvement but
was inferior to the work presented by Cronstedt a decade later (Sect. 25.7). In the
book Hydrologia, Wallerius took his organising skills to the extreme. Here he
attempted to find a system of classification for different types of water, such as
seawater, rainwater, lake water, etc., all based on superficial observations.
In the late 1740s, the university started to realise the importance of experimental
physics, and as both the universities in Lund and Åbo had chairs in physics, it was
found unacceptable that Uppsala had no professor in physics [19]. The idea was to
withdraw another professorship to free resources for the new chair. There were
several alternatives, and while trying to avoid the merge of the chairs in Greek and
oriental languages, bishop Samuel Troilius (1706–1764; father to Uno von Troil;
Sect. 7.3) suggested, on February 18, 1749, that a chair in chemistry also should be
established. The university was positive, the arguments being that the Faculty of
Medicine did not take the chemistry teaching seriously and that mining students had
to travel abroad to obtain the important knowledge in chemistry. To free resources,
the chairs in poetry and oriental languages (which in reality only included Hebrew)
were to be withdrawn. The Royal Council approved the plans on February 23,
1750. The appointment of Klingenstierna (Sect. 1.2) as a professor in physics was,
of course, the natural choice.
Wallerius was the only applicant for the chair in chemistry. Attempts were made
to recruit Georg Brandt or Anton von Swab, but they did not apply [20]. Thus, on
July 17, 1750, Wallerius was appointed professor of chemistry. Wallerius took the
appointment seriously, and his work would set the stage for Bergman and Scheele.
9.1 Wallerius—The First Chemistry Professor in Sweden
115