Lars ''Gunnar'' Edvard Nilson (28 September 1872 – 28 March 1951) was a Swedish physician. He passed his '' mogenhetsexamen'' in 1890 and earned a Bachelor of Medical Sciences degree 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 1895. Nilson conducted study trips across several European countries before becoming a naval doctor for the Swedish Navy from 1898 to 1902. He completed his Licentiate of Medicine at the

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...

in 1899 and later became a naval surgeon in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...

, where he oversaw the rebuilding of the Navy's hospital between 1906 and 1911. Nilson earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1911 and served as Surgeon-in-Chief of the Swedish Navy from 1917 to 1937 and head of the

Swedish Naval Medical Officers' Corps The Swedish Naval Medical Officers’ Corps (, MLK) was an Corps, administrative corps established in 1902 for military physicians in the Swedish Navy and in the Swedish Coastal Artillery. The corps was amalgamated into the Medical Corps of the Swe ...

, also holding numerous prestigious positions within the medical and insurance sectors. He represented Sweden at international medical conferences and published around fifty works, focusing on naval surgery and healthcare. He is also known for his opposition to merging the army and navy healthcare systems, promoting specialized medical practices within the navy.

Early life

Nilson was born on 28 September 1872 in

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

, Sweden, the son of Professor Lars Fredrik Nilson and his wife Alva Forssman. He passed '' mogenhetsexamen'' in 1890. He received a Bachelor of Medical Sciences degree from

in 1895 and he performed study trips in

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, the

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and

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. Nilson was a doctor exhibitioner in the Swedish Navy from 1898 to 1902 and received a Licentiate of Medicine degree at

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1899.

Career

After several medical employments, including from 1900 to 1903 at in Stockholm, Nilson became naval surgeon of the 2nd class in the reserve in 1903 and served as naval surgeon of the 1st class and hospital doctor in the surgical department at the Navy's Hospital in

from 1903 to 1917, whereby he planned and led its rebuilding from 1906 to 1911. Nilson received a Doctor of Medicine degree from

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

in 1911 and was appointed first naval surgeon in the

in 1916. Nilson served as Surgeon-in-Chief of the Swedish Navy and head of the

as well as head of the Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration's Sanitation Department from 1917 to 1937. In addition, he was from 1919 to 1940 the chief physician in the insurance company ''Lifförsäkrings-aktiebolaget De förenade'' and chief physician at the Reservespital XV in

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. ...

in 1916 and the Swedish government representative at the International Red Cross Conferences in

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in 1925 and in

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in 1928 as well as at the International Congress of Military Medicine and Pharmacy in

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in 1929. Among his assignments it may also be mentioned that he was chairman of experts regarding the employment of military doctors at civilian hospitals in 1918 and regarding new regulations for the navy in 1927, board member of the Swedish Insurance Association (''Svenska försäkringsföreningen'') from 1922 to 1933 and a member of the Executive Board for ''Allmänna Änke- och Pupillkassan'' from 1926. He was secretary of the Swedish Medical Society from 1919 to 1940 and in the latter year became an honorary member there. Nilson acted emphatically against the questionable merger of the army and navy healthcare system. Among other things, he promoted the application of ophthalmology in the navy and took an interest in the medical aspects of the naval air force. Nilson's approximately fifty writings in naval-hygienic, surgical and scholarly-historical subjects includes ''Sjökrigets kirurgi'' (1913), ''Marinens hälso- och sjukvård'' (1924; 2nd edition 1930), ''Hälso- och sjukvård till sjöss'' (1938), ''Berömda svenska läkare'' (1945) och ''Svenska läkaresällskapet 1908–1938'' (1947, a continuation of the society's centenary history).

Personal life

In 1906, Nilson married Clara Sofia Naumann (born 20 June 1885), with whom he had the children Gunnar (born 1906), Karin (born 1908), Ingrid (born 1913) and Gertrud (born 1916).

Awards and decorations

* Swedish Red Cross Gold Medal (1923) *Swedish Medical Society Lennmalm Medal in Gold (1947)

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1908; its secretary 1910—13 and 1914) *Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1921)

Selected bibliography

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilson, Gunnar 1872 births 1951 deaths Swedish military doctors Physicians from Uppsala Naval surgeons Uppsala University alumni Karolinska Institute alumni Lund University alumni Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Military personnel from Uppsala