Wargentin (Fig. 6.3) was the son of a priest and was born in Sunne, the province
of Jämtland in 1717. He enrolled at Uppsala University in 1735, and studied
physics and astronomy under Anders Celsius and Samuel Klingenstierna. He
received his master degree in 1743. Wargentin played a very important role in the
Swedish scientific community, both as Secretary of the Academy in Stockholm and
as a researcher. He was instrumental in the building of the new astronomical
observatory in Stockholm and published a large number of publications in the
Transactions of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Among these were a long
series of review papers on astronomical, biological and mathematical subjects.
Today, Wargentin is best remembered as the father of Swedish vital statistics. He
died in 1784 and was succeeded as Secretary by Wilcke (Sect. 6.2), who served
until his death in 1796.
Fig. 6.3 Physicist Wargentin, secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1749–1784.
Engraving by Johan Elias Cardon. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
6.2 The Academy Secretary
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