Hans Jakob Konrad Wilhelmsson Ahlmann (14 November 1889 – 10 March 1974) was a Swedish geographer, glaciologist, and diplomat. Born in

Karlsborg Karlsborg (, outdatedly ) is a locality and the seat of Karlsborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 3,551 inhabitants in 2010. This garrison town lies at the shore of lake Vättern in Västergötland Västergötland (), ...

, Sweden, Ahlmann grew up in Stockholm. He studied with Professor

Gerard De Geer Baron Gerard Jacob De Geer (20 November 1858 – 24 July 1943) was a Swedish geologist who made significant contributions to Quaternary geology, particularly geomorphology and geochronology. De Geer is best known for his work on varves. In 1890 ...

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

, and gained his doctorate in 1915 on a doctoral thesis on Sweden's Lake Ragundasjön. The same year, he became an associate professor of geography at the University of Stockholm. He was appointed Associate Professor of Geography at

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 1920 and professor at the Stockholm University from 1929 until 1950. He was a very active field worker and led an expedition to

Nordaustlandet Nordaustlandet (Anglicised as North East Land) is the second-largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, with an area of . It lies north east of Spitsbergen, separated by Hinlopen Strait. Much of Nordaustlandet lies under large ice ca ...

(North East Land) in the

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

archipelago in Norway in the spring of 1931. In 1934 he returned to Svalbard with Professor Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, this time to explore the glaciers on Vestspitsbergen. He examined the

Vatnajökull Vatnajökull ( Icelandic pronunciation: , literally "Glacier of Lakes"; sometimes translated as Vatna Glacier in English) is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland, and the second largest in area in Europe after the Severny Island i ...

(Vatna Glacier) in Iceland in 1936, and led in the winter of 1939–40 the Swedish-Norwegian study of glaciers in Greenland. In 1946, he led investigations of glaciers on Mount Kebnekaise in Sweden. He was one of the initiators of the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition in 1949–1952, and leader of the expedition's Swedish committee. In 1937 he was awarded the

Hans Egede Medal The Hans Egede Medal is awarded by the Royal Danish Geographical Society for outstanding services to geography, "principally for geographical studies and research in the Polar lands." It was instituted in 1916 and named after Hans Egede, a Danish ...

by the

Royal Danish Geographical Society The Royal Danish Geographical Society (RDGS, ) is a scientific society. The society aims to furthethe knowledge of the Earth and its inhabitants and to disseminate interest in the science of geography. It was founded 18 November 1876 on the initia ...

. He was elected to the Swedish Academy of Science in 1939 and in the same year awarded the

Patron's Medal The Royal Geographical Society's Gold Medal consists of two separate awards: the Founder's Medal 1830 and the Patron's Medal 1838. Together they form the most prestigious of the society's awards. They are given for "the encouragement and promoti ...

of the British

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. During the 1940s, Ahlmann was an international authority on the relationship between climate and glacier size, concluding that the glaciers were retreating. He was awarded the

Cullum Geographical Medal The Cullum Geographical Medal is one of the oldest awards of the American Geographical Society. It was established in the will of George Washington Cullum, the vice president of the Society, and is awarded "to those who distinguish themselves by ...

of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are United States, Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows f ...

in 1950. He was a member of several other scientific academies, among them the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences () was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer. In the 18th century, when Frenc ...

and the

Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

.List of Members , Hans Ahlmann
/ref> Ahlmann, whose Norwegian wife gave him a good network of contacts in Norway, was a member of the Swedish-Norwegian Association during World War II, and was the 1950–1956 Swedish ambassador in Oslo. From 1956 to 1960, he served as president of the

International Geographical Union The International Geographical Union (IGU; , UGI) is an international geographical society. The first International Geographical Congress was held in Antwerp in 1871. Subsequent meetings led to the establishment of the permanent organization i ...

Legacy

A number of geographical features are named after him: *Ahlmannfonna Glacier on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard * Ahlmann Glacier in Seligmanfjorden in Antarctica *

Ahlmann Ridge Ahlmann Ridge, also known as Ahlmannryggen, is a broad, mainly ice-covered ridge, about long, surmounted by scattered, low peaks. It rises between Schytt Glacier and Jutulstraumen Glacier and extends from Borg Massif northward to Fimbul Ice She ...

Dronning Maud Land Queen Maud Land () is a roughly region of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20° west, specifically the Caird Coast, Coats Land on the West, and the Australian Antarct ...

, Antarctica

References

* Translated from equivalent article on Swedish Wikipedia, which includes material from Norwegian Wikipedia article on Hans Wilhelmsson Ahlmann, 19 February 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahlman, Hans Wilhelmsson 1889 births 1974 deaths Swedish geographers Swedish glaciologists Presidents of the International Geographical Union Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Physiographic Society in Lund Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Academic staff of Stockholm University Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin 20th-century Swedish geographers Ambassadors of Sweden to Norway