28
The End of the Story
Within 2 years of time, the chemical community lost two of its brightest minds, and
not until Berzelius’ days would Sweden excel in chemistry again. This is the end of
the story of Scheele and Bergman.
28.1 Bergman’s Illness and Death
As a child, Bergman had a relatively good health apart from suffering from problems with constipation throughout his life [1]. He survived the “Uppsala fever” in
1755 but the cold sessions in his laboratory in the winter of 1769 (Chap. 11)
seriously degraded his health. He did not recover fully during the summer, and in
the autumn he suffered from severe headache: he could feel the blood being drawn
towards his head and feel the pulse in his temples [2]. This may very well be
indicative of high blood pressure [3]. He was subjected twice to bloodletting, not
surprisingly without any lasting relief. After another summer of poor health, he
found that he suffered from haemorrhoids that started to bleed copiously for a few
months. During this time, Bergman felt better, but as the bleeding stopped, he
suffered from severe pain that kept him awake during the nights [4]. In December
1771, he wrote to Gahn that he had been “attacked by illness” the previous winter,
and this winter his illness had set in even earlier [5]. A few months later, in March
1772, he wrote to Gahn that he had been forced to study medicine in order to find
the cause of his illness [6]. By then, his health had improved with the milder
weather. He advised Gahn to take care of his health since “Everything is to nothing,
when the health is gone”. Bergman’s problems with constipation may have been the
cause of his haemorrhoids [7]. In 1774, he suffered from another fever decease, but
from 1775 his health was relatively good for some time. In 1781, his problems
spread to his chest, as he put it, and he started coughing, especially in the mornings
[8]. In cold weather, he suffered from fatigue and could not leave his house. In his
last preserved letter to Gahn, dated February 24, 1782, he wrote that he had been in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Lennartson, Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Torbern Bergman, Perspectives on the
History of Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49194-9_28
375
The End of the Story
Within 2 years of time, the chemical community lost two of its brightest minds, and
not until Berzelius’ days would Sweden excel in chemistry again. This is the end of
the story of Scheele and Bergman.
28.1 Bergman’s Illness and Death
As a child, Bergman had a relatively good health apart from suffering from problems with constipation throughout his life [1]. He survived the “Uppsala fever” in
1755 but the cold sessions in his laboratory in the winter of 1769 (Chap. 11)
seriously degraded his health. He did not recover fully during the summer, and in
the autumn he suffered from severe headache: he could feel the blood being drawn
towards his head and feel the pulse in his temples [2]. This may very well be
indicative of high blood pressure [3]. He was subjected twice to bloodletting, not
surprisingly without any lasting relief. After another summer of poor health, he
found that he suffered from haemorrhoids that started to bleed copiously for a few
months. During this time, Bergman felt better, but as the bleeding stopped, he
suffered from severe pain that kept him awake during the nights [4]. In December
1771, he wrote to Gahn that he had been “attacked by illness” the previous winter,
and this winter his illness had set in even earlier [5]. A few months later, in March
1772, he wrote to Gahn that he had been forced to study medicine in order to find
the cause of his illness [6]. By then, his health had improved with the milder
weather. He advised Gahn to take care of his health since “Everything is to nothing,
when the health is gone”. Bergman’s problems with constipation may have been the
cause of his haemorrhoids [7]. In 1774, he suffered from another fever decease, but
from 1775 his health was relatively good for some time. In 1781, his problems
spread to his chest, as he put it, and he started coughing, especially in the mornings
[8]. In cold weather, he suffered from fatigue and could not leave his house. In his
last preserved letter to Gahn, dated February 24, 1782, he wrote that he had been in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Lennartson, Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Torbern Bergman, Perspectives on the
History of Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49194-9_28
375