11.4.15 König Alexander Grönlund
Grönlund defended his thesis de terra silicia (On siliceous earth; Sect.22.4) in
1779. Grönlund held the Hylting scholarship, established in 1752 and which is as of
2019 still available for students at Uppsala University.
11.4.16 Per Castorin
Castorin was born in Grythyttan on October 12, 1761. Castorin defended his thesis
de minerarum docimasia humida (Sect. 23.4) in 1780. In 1794 he inherited his
father’s iron works in Älvestorp, complete with mining fields, blast furnace and
factories. He died on January 20, 1808. His sister, Katarina Ulrika Castorin, married
another of Bergman’s students, Geijer, in 1788.
11.4.17 Andreas Niclas Tunborg
Tunborg, from the Dalarna province, defended his thesis on the determination of the
phlogiston content in metals (Sect. 22.5) in 1780. He seems to have made a career
as a civil servant of some kind, and is referred to as “notarie” by Hjelm [53].
11.4.18 Johan Gadolin
Gadolin [54] (Fig. 11.7) was born on June 5, 1760 in Åbo, Finland, which was then
a Swedish province. His father, Jacob Gadolin, was bishop and professor in astronomy and physics at the University in Åbo, Åbo Academy. The name Gadolin
was invented by his grandfather, and was derived from gadol (great), the Hebrew
translation of Maunula, the farm where he lived [55]. Gadolin started his studies at
the Åbo Academy in 1775, first focusing on mathematics, but his interest eventually
turned towards chemistry. In chemistry, he was instructed by professor Gadd, but to
gain a deeper knowledge he went first to Stockholm and finally, in June 1779, to
Uppsala. In June 1781, he defended his thesis, de analysi ferri (on the analysis of
iron) and obtained his master degree a year later.
Back in Åbo he held different positions at the University but without much
success, and in 1786 he undertook a trip through Denmark, Germany, the
Netherlands, England and Ireland. In 1789, he succeeded Gadd in Åbo, becoming
full professor in 1797. As professor, Gadolin was very active in both teaching and
research, publishing a large number of papers and doctoral theses. Many of his
theses form series, where the text has been divided into a number of theses in an
apparently arbitrary way. For instance, his book Index Fossilium, which is an
alphabetic list of minerals and their composition, is made up of ten dissertations
defended in 1823. In another long series of dissertations, Historiam doctrinæ de
affinitatibus chemicis, defended in 1815–1819, he returned to Bergman’s favourite
180
11 Bergman as a Teacher
Grönlund defended his thesis de terra silicia (On siliceous earth; Sect.22.4) in
1779. Grönlund held the Hylting scholarship, established in 1752 and which is as of
2019 still available for students at Uppsala University.
11.4.16 Per Castorin
Castorin was born in Grythyttan on October 12, 1761. Castorin defended his thesis
de minerarum docimasia humida (Sect. 23.4) in 1780. In 1794 he inherited his
father’s iron works in Älvestorp, complete with mining fields, blast furnace and
factories. He died on January 20, 1808. His sister, Katarina Ulrika Castorin, married
another of Bergman’s students, Geijer, in 1788.
11.4.17 Andreas Niclas Tunborg
Tunborg, from the Dalarna province, defended his thesis on the determination of the
phlogiston content in metals (Sect. 22.5) in 1780. He seems to have made a career
as a civil servant of some kind, and is referred to as “notarie” by Hjelm [53].
11.4.18 Johan Gadolin
Gadolin [54] (Fig. 11.7) was born on June 5, 1760 in Åbo, Finland, which was then
a Swedish province. His father, Jacob Gadolin, was bishop and professor in astronomy and physics at the University in Åbo, Åbo Academy. The name Gadolin
was invented by his grandfather, and was derived from gadol (great), the Hebrew
translation of Maunula, the farm where he lived [55]. Gadolin started his studies at
the Åbo Academy in 1775, first focusing on mathematics, but his interest eventually
turned towards chemistry. In chemistry, he was instructed by professor Gadd, but to
gain a deeper knowledge he went first to Stockholm and finally, in June 1779, to
Uppsala. In June 1781, he defended his thesis, de analysi ferri (on the analysis of
iron) and obtained his master degree a year later.
Back in Åbo he held different positions at the University but without much
success, and in 1786 he undertook a trip through Denmark, Germany, the
Netherlands, England and Ireland. In 1789, he succeeded Gadd in Åbo, becoming
full professor in 1797. As professor, Gadolin was very active in both teaching and
research, publishing a large number of papers and doctoral theses. Many of his
theses form series, where the text has been divided into a number of theses in an
apparently arbitrary way. For instance, his book Index Fossilium, which is an
alphabetic list of minerals and their composition, is made up of ten dissertations
defended in 1823. In another long series of dissertations, Historiam doctrinæ de
affinitatibus chemicis, defended in 1815–1819, he returned to Bergman’s favourite
180
11 Bergman as a Teacher