Erik Anders Burius (born Erik Anders Jonsson; 2 August 1956 – 7 December 2004), was a Swedish

intellectual historian Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual histor ...

and director of the National Library of Sweden's

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced ...

department where he became known as the infamous "KB-mannen" ( English: "the RL Man", after the

Kungliga Biblioteket The National Library of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga biblioteket, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish ...

, the "Royal Library") following his theft and sale of several valuable books from the library's collection.

Biography

Anders Burius studied at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) 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. The university rose to significance durin ...

where in 1984 did his intellectual history dissertation ''"Ömhet om friheten - Studier i frihetstidens censurpolitik" (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

: "Care for freedom: studies in the literary censorship during Sweden's Age of Liberty")''. He also passed degrees in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

, and

real estate broker A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

. After his studies, he worked among others, at the Caroline Institute's library. Towards the end of the 1980s he applied for the position of

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

in History of Books at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is b ...

, Anders Burius also wrote a commemorative book on the history of the

Nobel Library The Nobel Library ( sv, Nobelbiblioteket or, officially, sv, Svenska Akademiens Nobelbibliotek, e.g. "Nobel Library of the Swedish Academy") is the public library of the Swedish Academy instituted to assist the evaluation of Nobel laureates to the ...

. After several years of stealing and selling at least 56 valuable books from the Nation Library's collection to Christoph Calaminus at the auction house Ketterer Kunst in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, Anders Burius was exposed and later confessed to the thefts in 2004. On 8 December 2004, at 04:39 am

SOS Alarm is a Swedish publicly owned company that operates emergency number 112 in Sweden. The enterprise is owned equally by the Government of Sweden and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. History SOS Alarm has its origin i ...

received calls about a major explosion in central Stockholm. Thirteen fire trucks from four fire departments were sent to the scene, sixteen police patrols blocked off the area, and fifty-five people were evacuated by bus. During a short release from pre-court custody Anders Burius had committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

by slitting his wrist and cutting the gas line in his apartment, which later resulted in an extensive explosion with about a dozen people injured. His body was found among the debris four days later.

Media

In 2008, Sveriges Radio channel P1 aired a documentary about Anders Burius, ''Bibliotekarien'' by Jesper Huor, that won

Stora Radiopriset Stora Enso Oyj (from sv, Stora and fi, Enso ) is a manufacturer of pulp, paper and other forest products, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The majority of sales takes place in Europe, but there are also significant operations in Asia and ...

''(

: The Great Radio Award)''. During 2010 the

drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

'' Bibliotekstjuven'' was made by SVT with

Gustaf Skarsgård Gustaf Caspar Orm Skarsgård (born 12 November 1980) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his roles in ''Evil'' (2003), '' The Way Back'' (2010) and ''Kon-Tiki'' (2012). He also appeared in the HBO TV series '' Westworld'' (2018), as Merlin in t ...

playing the lead, inspired by the events surrounding ''"the RL Man"'', and aired on

SVT1 SVT1 (SVT Ett; commonly referred to as Ettan) is the primary television station of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television in Sweden. History Television in Sweden officially launched on 4 September 1956 with the launch of '' ...

in January 2011. The director

Daniel Lind Lagerlöf Daniel Lind Lagerlöf (6 February 1969 – missing since 6 October 2011) is a Swedish director, screenwriter and producer who is presumed dead. Career Lagerlöf began his work in television as an assistant, and directed his first film, ''För ...

termed the series "a drama inspired by a real story" and "not a drama documentary".

Bibliography

* ''Hundra år i litteraturprisets tjänst'' (2002)

References

External links

List of identified stolen books
published by KB
Anders Burius
in

Libris LIBRIS (Library Information System) is a Swedish national union catalogue maintained by the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm. It is possible to freely search about 6.5 million titles nationwide. In addition to bibliographic records, one ...

"Bibliotekarien – om brott och dubbelspel i Sveriges akademiska elit"
(in Swedish), award winning documentary by P1 Dokumentär. * Repo, Walter (1 August 2006). �
KB-mannens sista kapitel
��. ''

Café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

''. (in Swedish)
Archived
from the original on 15 September 2016. * Terese Cristiansson, Christian Holmén & Katarina Sternudd (13 December 2004). �
Dokument Expressen: Boktjuvens dubbelliv
��. ''

Expressen ''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being '' Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue". ...

''. (in Swedish
Archived
from the original on 2 August 2013. * �
"Bibliotekstjuven" stal även ur KIs boksamlingar
��. (in Swedish)

Karolinska institutet The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consist ...

. Archived from th
original
on 23 February 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Burius, Anders Intellectual historians 1956 births 2004 deaths 2004 suicides Suicides by explosive device Suicides by sharp instrument in Sweden