Helge Götrik Backlund or Oleg Oskarovich Baklund in the Russian form (September 3, 1878 – January 29, 1958) was a Swedish geologist and mineralogist. He grew up and worked in the Russian Empire before moving to become a professor at the

University of Uppsala 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 ...

. He had a special interest in the formation of granites and gneiss.

Life and work

Backlund was born in

Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

to Ulrika Widebeck and Johan Oskar Backlund (1846–1916) who was later the director of the observatory at

Pulkovo Pulkovo may refer to: *Pulkovo Heights marking the southern limit of Saint Petersburg, Russia *Pulkovo Airport serving Saint Petersburg, Russia * Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise, a former (until 2006) state airline based in Saint Petersburg, Russia *Pu ...

. Backlund grew up in the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Russia. He became interested in the natural sciences at an early age and after studies at the German Katarina Gymnasium in St. Petersburg he went to the University to study geology. He graduated in 1908 and defended his doctoral thesis in 1914. He took part in the Swedish-Russian expedition to Spitzbergen 1899–1901 under F. N. Chernyshev during which he studied basalts. In 1906–1907 he worked in Vienna under Friedrich Becke and published “Über die Olivingruppe” (1909). In 1908, he became curator of the geological museum at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. He travelled to Siberia to study the geology of the Urals. In 1911 he went on an oil exploration mission into the Taimyr Peninsula. He also took part in an exploration of copper ores in the Urals. In 1914 he married Hildegard Dischner. In 1917 he was forced to flee Russia during the revolution and moved to Sweden and then to the Abo academy in Turku in 1918. In 1924 he became a professor of geology at the University of Uppsala, succeeding a position held by A. G. Hogbom. He became interested in studies on gneiss from 1929 after a visit to Greenland with

Lauge Koch Lauge Koch (5 July 1892 – 5 June 1964) was a Danish geologist and Arctic explorer. Biography Lauge Koch was born in 1892 to Karl and Elisabeth Koch. His development as a scientist was greatly influenced by his father's second cousin Johan Peter ...

. Backlund received a honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1940 which was prompted by support from Leo von zur Mühlen and was political supported by the Reich Education Ministry who saw him as a supporter of "German ideas". In 1927 he received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University. In 1928 he was one of the founders of the Swedish Mineralogical Society. He retired in 1943 and received the Gustav Steinmann Medal. He was a visiting professor in England and Spain in 1948 and 1952. He died in Uppsala and was buried in the old cemetery in Fjärdingen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Backlund, Helge 1878 births 1958 deaths 20th-century Swedish geologists People from Tartu