Alarik Frithiof Holmgren
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Alarik Frithiof Holmgren (October 22, 1831 – August 14, 1897) was a Swedish physician, physiologist and professor at
Upsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially founded in the 15th century, the university rose to s ...
, most noted for his research of
color blindness Color blindness, color vision deficiency (CVD) or color deficiency is the decreased ability to color vision, see color or differences in color. The severity of color blindness ranges from mostly unnoticeable to full absence of color percept ...
. He was a vocal opponent of vivisection, and particularly the use of
curare Curare ( or ; or ) is a common name for various alkaloid arrow poisons originating from plant extracts. Used as a paralyzing agent by indigenous peoples in Central and South America for hunting and for therapeutic purposes, curare only ...
to immobilize subjects so they appeared peaceful while enduring great pain.


Biography

Holmgren was born in
Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...
, Sweden, where his father Anders was rector for the Motala-Vinnerstad parish. One of twelve siblings he studied at Linköping before going to Uppsala in 1850. From 1852 he served as a medical practitioner including during the cholera pandemic in
Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Ă–stergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Ă–stergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...
and
Söderköping Söderköping is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Söderköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,992 inhabitants in 2010. Söderköping is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still refe ...
. He graduated as a Medical Doctor from
Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...
in 1861. He went to Vienna and studied under
Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke (; 6 July 1819 – 7 January 1892) was a German physician and physiologist. He worked on the nature of cells, physiology of language, the effect of electricity on muscles, and studies of albumin. He also made significa ...
who sent him to work with
Carl Ludwig Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (; 29 December 1816 – 23 April 1895) was a German physician and physiologist. His work as both a researcher and teacher had a major influence on the understanding, methods and apparatus used in almost all branche ...
at Leipzig. He joined the faculty of Uppsala University and in 1864, was appointed professor of physiology, the first in Sweden. He researched color blindness and his most notable work was about color blindness in relation to rail and sea transport. His research in 1869-70 took him to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
(
Emil du Bois-Reymond Emil Heinrich du Bois-Reymond (7 November 1818 – 26 December 1896) was a German physiologist, the co-discoverer of nerve action potential, and the developer of experimental electrophysiology. His lectures on science and culture earned him grea ...
), Heidelberg (
Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (; ; 31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894; "von" since 1883) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The ...
),
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
(with
Claude Bernard Claude Bernard (; 12 July 1813 – 10 February 1878) was a French physiologist. I. Bernard Cohen of Harvard University called Bernard "one of the greatest of all men of science". He originated the term ''milieu intérieur'' and the associated c ...
). Du Bois-Reymond inspired his work on attaching electrodes to the back and front of the eye of frogs to examine retinal responses. He devised a standardized test, now known as
Holmgren's wool test Holmgren's wool test also known as Holmgren's colored wool test is a color vision test used to detect color vision deficiency. Swedish physiologist Frithiof Holmgren introduced the test in 1874. It was the first successful attempt to standardize t ...
, for color blindness testing in 1874. Following a railway crash at Lagerlunda in 1875, he advocated the need to preclude people with defective color vision from railway employment. This established the now standard practice of excluded color blind individuals from employment in certain sectors.


Personal life

Holmgren was a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...
from 1880. In 1869, he was married to the suffragist
Ann-Margret Holmgren Anna Margareta "Ann-Margret" Holmgren (; 17February 185012October 1940) was a Swedish author, feminist, suffragist, and pacifist. Life Anna Margareta Holmgren was born at Hässle Manor in Uppland, Sweden. She was the daughter of Baroness Aug ...
(1850–1940). They were the parents of eight children. The couple established a folk dance society and he campaigned for gymnastics training. They supported
Artur Hazelius Artur Immanuel Hazelius (30 November 1833 – 27 May 1901) was a Swedish teacher, scholar, folklorist and museum director. He was the founder of both the Nordic Museum (''Nordiska museet'') and the Skansen open-air museum in Stockholm. Back ...
establish a museum of Swedish rural life. He died from arteriosclerosis. Both he and his wife were buried at
Uppsala old cemetery Uppsala Old Cemetery () is a cemetery in Uppsala, Sweden. In July 2024, about 20 grave sites at Uppsala Old Cemetery were vandalized (overturned gravestones, broken grave lanterns and destroyed flower arrangements). Notable burials * Greta A ...
.


See also

*
History of animal testing The history of animal testing goes back to the writings of the Ancient Greece, Ancient Greeks in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, with Aristotle (384–322 BCE) and Erasistratus (304–258 BCE) one of the first documented to perform experiments on ...


References


External links

* *Holmgren's (1877
''De la cécité des couleurs dans ses rapports avec les chemins de fer et la marine''
- digital facsimile at the
Linda Hall Library The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, on the grounds of a urban arboretum. It claims to be the "largest independently funded public library of sc ...
1831 births 1897 deaths Swedish anti-vivisectionists People from Östergötland County Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of Uppsala University 19th-century Swedish physicians Swedish physiologists Swedish medical researchers Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Burials at Uppsala old cemetery {{Sweden-med-bio-stub