active and was appointed a member of the Diet in 1786 and joined the opposition
against the King’s restrictions to the freedom of press.
Lars Hiortzberg (or Hjortsberg; 1727–1789) had defended a thesis on the connection between chemistry and society under the supervision of Wallerius in 1751
[49]. He received his master’s degree in 1752 and, the same year, he was promoted
to docent after his student, Gustaf Elfsten, presented his thesis [50]. This thesis is
actually a continuation of Hiortzberg’s own inaugural thesis. In 1754, Hiortzberg
obtained his M.D. degree under the supervision of Linnaeus [51]. Hiortzberg
presided over two more theses, in 1756 [52] and 1757 [53], defended by Erik
Holmén and Peter Boling, respectively. In 1762, he left Uppsala for Karlskrona,
where he became navy physician (amiralitetsmedicus) [54]. Thus, by the time of the
application, both Kewenter and Hiortzberg had left the university, and Kewenter’s
change of career was used as an argument against his application. Hiotzberg made a
few more appearances at the university, and served as an opponent on a thesis
defence of one of Bergman’s students, Plomgren, in 1770 [55].
The first step in the process of appointing a professor was for a board consisting
of the professors at the university to set up a ranking list of the three top candidates
that was presented to the University Chancellor, at the time Crown Prince Gustav.
The Chancellor would pass his opinion to the King, or in reality the Royal Council,
for the formal decision [56]. In the appointment of the chemistry professor, the
opinion of the Board of Mines would also be taken into account [57]. Thus, there
were many factors that would affect the outcome of the process, and in order to be
appointed, an influential network was of vital importance [57]. The intrigues
leading to the appointment of Bergman have been studied in detail in a doctoral
thesis by Fors [58], and most of the following discussion is based on his work.
Tidström’s position as Wallerius’ assistant for 8 years does not seem to have
been as meriting as one could have suspected. Rumours at the university said that
Wallerius actually tried to prevent his appointment by means of an elaborate plot,
where Wallerius would have switched position with another professor before his
retirement. It still appears that he preferred Tidström over the other three candidates.
The highly religious and conservative Wallerius was certainly not impressed by
Bergman’s Physical Description of the Earth and definitely did not want to see a
Newtonian physicist as his successor. When Wallerius wrote a book on the creation
of Earth in 1776, he found Bergman’s book hardly worth mentioning [59].
Although Tidström did not have Wallerius’ full support, he did have an
influential supporter in Linnaeus. Linnaeus generally supported his apostles, and
although Linnaeus had encouraged Bergman in his early biological work, and
acknowledged Bergman as a skilled physicist, he did not think Bergman could
replace Wallerius. In a letter, Linnaeus wrote that he had “never heard, before the
chemical vacancy, that he [Bergman] had ever thought of chemistry”. He was
probably correct. Through Linnaeus, Tidström also had the support of Carl Gustaf
Tessin (Fig. 9.7), who had once supported Linnaeus in his campaign against
Wallerius in 1742. Tessin was a highly influential diplomat, politician and a patron
for culture and science. Tidström had for example, been appointed by Tessin to
122
9 Bergman Becomes a Chemist
against the King’s restrictions to the freedom of press.
Lars Hiortzberg (or Hjortsberg; 1727–1789) had defended a thesis on the connection between chemistry and society under the supervision of Wallerius in 1751
[49]. He received his master’s degree in 1752 and, the same year, he was promoted
to docent after his student, Gustaf Elfsten, presented his thesis [50]. This thesis is
actually a continuation of Hiortzberg’s own inaugural thesis. In 1754, Hiortzberg
obtained his M.D. degree under the supervision of Linnaeus [51]. Hiortzberg
presided over two more theses, in 1756 [52] and 1757 [53], defended by Erik
Holmén and Peter Boling, respectively. In 1762, he left Uppsala for Karlskrona,
where he became navy physician (amiralitetsmedicus) [54]. Thus, by the time of the
application, both Kewenter and Hiortzberg had left the university, and Kewenter’s
change of career was used as an argument against his application. Hiotzberg made a
few more appearances at the university, and served as an opponent on a thesis
defence of one of Bergman’s students, Plomgren, in 1770 [55].
The first step in the process of appointing a professor was for a board consisting
of the professors at the university to set up a ranking list of the three top candidates
that was presented to the University Chancellor, at the time Crown Prince Gustav.
The Chancellor would pass his opinion to the King, or in reality the Royal Council,
for the formal decision [56]. In the appointment of the chemistry professor, the
opinion of the Board of Mines would also be taken into account [57]. Thus, there
were many factors that would affect the outcome of the process, and in order to be
appointed, an influential network was of vital importance [57]. The intrigues
leading to the appointment of Bergman have been studied in detail in a doctoral
thesis by Fors [58], and most of the following discussion is based on his work.
Tidström’s position as Wallerius’ assistant for 8 years does not seem to have
been as meriting as one could have suspected. Rumours at the university said that
Wallerius actually tried to prevent his appointment by means of an elaborate plot,
where Wallerius would have switched position with another professor before his
retirement. It still appears that he preferred Tidström over the other three candidates.
The highly religious and conservative Wallerius was certainly not impressed by
Bergman’s Physical Description of the Earth and definitely did not want to see a
Newtonian physicist as his successor. When Wallerius wrote a book on the creation
of Earth in 1776, he found Bergman’s book hardly worth mentioning [59].
Although Tidström did not have Wallerius’ full support, he did have an
influential supporter in Linnaeus. Linnaeus generally supported his apostles, and
although Linnaeus had encouraged Bergman in his early biological work, and
acknowledged Bergman as a skilled physicist, he did not think Bergman could
replace Wallerius. In a letter, Linnaeus wrote that he had “never heard, before the
chemical vacancy, that he [Bergman] had ever thought of chemistry”. He was
probably correct. Through Linnaeus, Tidström also had the support of Carl Gustaf
Tessin (Fig. 9.7), who had once supported Linnaeus in his campaign against
Wallerius in 1742. Tessin was a highly influential diplomat, politician and a patron
for culture and science. Tidström had for example, been appointed by Tessin to
122
9 Bergman Becomes a Chemist