Henrik Vilhelm Munthe (1 November 1860 – 15 August 1958) was a Swedish

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

Biography

Munthe became a student in 1882 and in 1892 a doctor of philosophy and associate professor of geology 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 ...

, where he was acting professor of mineralogy and geology in 1894–96. In 1898 he was appointed and in 1899 regular geologist at the

Swedish Geological Survey ''not to be confused with the Geologiska föreningen ()'' Geological Survey of Sweden (, SGU) is a Swedish government agency that was founded by Axel Erdmann in 1858, that supervises all mineral deposits activities (surveys and extractions) in ...

(SGU). In the years 1904-13 he was secretary of the Geological Society in Stockholm. Munthe received the title of professor in 1917. He was elected to 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 ...

in 1928. His research centered on the

Quaternary geology Quaternary geology is the branch of geology that study developments from 2.58 million years ago to the present. In particular, Quaternary geology study the process and deposits that developed during the Quaternary, a period characterized by Glacial ...

of the Baltic Sea region, nevertheless he did also some contributions on the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...

stratigraphy of

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

and

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

. Having begun his career using bicycles to survey the terrain Munthe continued to advocate using bicycle well after survey by car had become commonplace. A Gotlänning ("Gotlander") by birth Munthe's

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

is reported to have been Gotländska and he was particularly fond of working with issues regarding the island. He was the editor of SGU's Gotland maps and lectured about its Quaternary geology at the

Visby Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...

local history society in 1911. Munthe was an active member of Geologiska föreningen i Stockholm being a longtime editor of its scientific journal '' Geologiska föreningens förhandlingar'' (now ''GFF''). He was also a member of the

Swedish Society for Nature Conservation Sveriges Natur. The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (, previously known as , ''SNF'') is a non-profit, non-partisan, Swedish environmental organization. It is the largest and oldest environmental society in Sweden, with 24 county branches ...

and Svenska Turistföreningen.

Scientific career

Following his 1886 discovery of '' Ancylus fluviatilis'' fossils in Gotland Munthe proposed in 1887 the existence of the

Ancylus Lake Ancylus Lake is a name given by geologists to a large freshwater lake that existed in northern Europe approximately from 8,750 to 7,850 years Before Christ, BC, being in effect one of various predecessors to the modern Baltic Sea. Origin, evoluti ...

, a lake that would prove "the most enigmatic (and discussed) of the many Baltic stages". Later he endorsed the idea of an outlet for this lake at the near

Degerfors Degerfors () is a locality and the seat of Degerfors Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden, with 7,160 inhabitants in 2010. Degerfors is the sixth-largest city in Örebro County. It is located at the southern shore of lake Möckeln, 13 km (8 mi) so ...

(Svea River) proposed by

Lennart von Post Ernst Jakob Lennart von Post (16June 188411January 1951) was a Swedish naturalist and geologist. He was the first to publish quantitative analysis of pollen and is counted as one of the founders of palynology. He was a professor at Stockholm Univ ...

in the 1920s. The two worked together until 1927 when their relation fell apart. In 1927 and 1928 he was involved in a controversyabout Svea River through opinion pieces in newspapers with Astrid Cleve, a strident outcast of Sweden's geological community.

References

1860 births 1958 deaths People from Gotland County Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of Uppsala University 20th-century Swedish geologists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Quaternary geologists Geological Survey of Sweden personnel 19th-century Swedish geologists {{geologist-stub