deeper. At 11 pm, it was obvious that the end was near and half an hour later
Bergman passed away at an age of 49: his body underwent a few weak twitches and
finally relaxed.
At 9 am the following morning Wåhlin, Carl Ribben (1734 or 1738–1803)
2 and the
spa feldsher conducted the autopsy, the results of which were also published [16], and
strongly indicates that Bergman suffered from lung tuberculosis leading to severely
weakened general condition [7]. The ultimate cause of death was probably a stroke,
whether ischemic or haemorrhagic cannot be determined as the physicians performing
the autopsy lacked a saw and thus could not access Bergman’s brain [16].
28.2 Bergman’s Funeral
Bergman’s body was not brought back to Uppsala but buried under the floor in the
Odencrantz mausoleum (Fig. 28.1) on the churchyard of Västra Ny Church, close
to Medevi. This mausoleum was mainly intended for the Odencrantz family but was
also used occasionally for more prominent guests who died during their stay at
Medevi. The funeral service was held on July 13, in Västra Ny Church (Fig. 28.2)
[16]. Among the guests were three members of the Diet (riksråd; two of which were
Scheffer and Falkengren [18]) and the director of Medevi, Wåhlin, held a speech
[19]. The speech, which was rather short and perhaps not a masterpiece, was
published later that autumn [20]. Wåhlin spoke more generally over death, the deep
hole that Bergman left after him and the great loss that Wåhlin assured would
spread to the Royal Throne. Wåhlin did not speak about Bergman’s accomplishments or his character. As director of the spa, Wåhlin took the opportunity to assure
that Bergman’s pains had been relieved on previous visits to Medevi, and that,
although Bergman unfortunately had died, many people found their relief in
Medevi. “This dust [Bergman’s body]”, Wåhlin concluded, “will be honoured by a
posterity, and it should also be noted for the future, that it has been accompanied
here by an honourable and tender company”. Today, the mausoleum is used to store
old furniture from the church, and there are no visible signs of any graves. An
epitaph of Bergman is, however, found inside the church.
With only 4 days between Bergman’s death and the funeral, it is unlikely that
any guests from Uppsala attended the ceremony. Scheele was of course moved by
the death of his friend. “Bergman’s death has affected me very deeply”, he wrote to
Wilcke [13], who became Scheele’s closest friend after Bergman’s death.
3 Scheele
sent another letter to Crell on July 19, informing him of Bergman’s death. This
letter is cited by Crell in a paper on tungstic acid and tungsten [21].
2
Another student of Linnaeus.
3
At least outside Köping; we now essentially nothing about his relationship to people that he did
not have to write letters to.
28.1 Bergman’s Illness and Death
377
Bergman passed away at an age of 49: his body underwent a few weak twitches and
finally relaxed.
At 9 am the following morning Wåhlin, Carl Ribben (1734 or 1738–1803)
2 and the
spa feldsher conducted the autopsy, the results of which were also published [16], and
strongly indicates that Bergman suffered from lung tuberculosis leading to severely
weakened general condition [7]. The ultimate cause of death was probably a stroke,
whether ischemic or haemorrhagic cannot be determined as the physicians performing
the autopsy lacked a saw and thus could not access Bergman’s brain [16].
28.2 Bergman’s Funeral
Bergman’s body was not brought back to Uppsala but buried under the floor in the
Odencrantz mausoleum (Fig. 28.1) on the churchyard of Västra Ny Church, close
to Medevi. This mausoleum was mainly intended for the Odencrantz family but was
also used occasionally for more prominent guests who died during their stay at
Medevi. The funeral service was held on July 13, in Västra Ny Church (Fig. 28.2)
[16]. Among the guests were three members of the Diet (riksråd; two of which were
Scheffer and Falkengren [18]) and the director of Medevi, Wåhlin, held a speech
[19]. The speech, which was rather short and perhaps not a masterpiece, was
published later that autumn [20]. Wåhlin spoke more generally over death, the deep
hole that Bergman left after him and the great loss that Wåhlin assured would
spread to the Royal Throne. Wåhlin did not speak about Bergman’s accomplishments or his character. As director of the spa, Wåhlin took the opportunity to assure
that Bergman’s pains had been relieved on previous visits to Medevi, and that,
although Bergman unfortunately had died, many people found their relief in
Medevi. “This dust [Bergman’s body]”, Wåhlin concluded, “will be honoured by a
posterity, and it should also be noted for the future, that it has been accompanied
here by an honourable and tender company”. Today, the mausoleum is used to store
old furniture from the church, and there are no visible signs of any graves. An
epitaph of Bergman is, however, found inside the church.
With only 4 days between Bergman’s death and the funeral, it is unlikely that
any guests from Uppsala attended the ceremony. Scheele was of course moved by
the death of his friend. “Bergman’s death has affected me very deeply”, he wrote to
Wilcke [13], who became Scheele’s closest friend after Bergman’s death.
3 Scheele
sent another letter to Crell on July 19, informing him of Bergman’s death. This
letter is cited by Crell in a paper on tungstic acid and tungsten [21].
2
Another student of Linnaeus.
3
At least outside Köping; we now essentially nothing about his relationship to people that he did
not have to write letters to.
28.1 Bergman’s Illness and Death
377