Julius Nicolaysen (31 July 1831 – 25 December 1909) was a Norwegian professor of medicine.

Personal life

He was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

as a son of merchant and banker Lyder Wentzel Nicolaysen (1794–1876) and Cathrine Margrethe Wilhelmine Bernhoft (1808–1871). He was a half-brother of

Nicolay Nicolaysen Nicolay Nicolaysen (14 January 1817 - 22 January 1911) was a Norway, Norwegian Archaeology, archaeologist and Norway's first state employed antiquarian. He is perhaps best known for his excavations of the ship burial at Gokstad ship burial, Gok ...

and first cousin of Niels Aars Nicolaysen. In April 1859 in Borre he married his first cousin Bolette Marie Berentine Nicolaysen (1835–1922). They had the sons Johan Nicolaysen, Lyder Wenzel Nicolaysen and

Wilhelm Nicolaysen Wilhelm Lorentz Lexau Nicolaysen (16 February 1869 – 22 July 1944) was a Norwegian barrister and businessperson. He was born in Oslo, Kristiania as a son of professor of medicine Julius Nicolaysen (1831–1909) and Bolette Marie Berentine Nicol ...

. He was also an uncle of Lyder Wentzel Christie Nicolaysen and grandfather of Knud Dahl Nicolaysen.

Career

He finished his secondary education in 1849 and graduated from the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

with the cand.med. degree in 1856. He worked in Christiania,

Kragerø Kragerø () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. Villages in Kragerø include H ...

and Møre before becoming a surgeon for army companies in

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 ...

(1857–1860) and Christiania (1862). He was hired at

Rikshospitalet Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, is one of the four main campuses of Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. It was an independent hospital, ''Rigshospitalet'', later spelled ''Rikshospitalet'' ("The National Hospital"), from 1826 to 20 ...

in 1863; from 1867 to 1870 he was a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

at the university (including thirteen months in the United States). He was a professor at the university and chief physician at Rikshospitalet, until retiring from both posts in 1908. His special field was surgery, but he was also a prominent scholar in

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

. He was the first in Norway to perform

ovarectomy Oophorectomy (; from Greek , , 'egg-bearing' and , , 'a cutting out of'), historically also called ''ovariotomy'', is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term is mostly used in reference to ...

(1866), resection in the knee (1881) and resection in the bowel (1885). He also contributed significantly to the introduction of

antiseptic An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's abil ...

, later

aseptic Asepsis is the state of being free from disease-causing micro-organisms (such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses, pathogenic fungi, and parasites). There are two categories of asepsis: medical and surgical. The modern day notion of asepsis is deri ...

methods in surgery. He chaired the

Norwegian Medical Society The Norwegian Medical Society (, ) is a medical organisation in Norway. It has its roots in an informal group created in 1826, which subscribed to and shared foreign medical journals. In 1833 it was formally inaugurated as ''Lægeforeningen i Ch ...

in 1880, received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

in 1879 and was a fellow in the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

from 1875. He was decorated as a Knight of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1889; upgraded to Commander in 1897.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolaysen, Julius 1831 births 1909 deaths Physicians from Bergen Norwegian dentists Norwegian surgeons University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Oslo University Hospital people Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Norwegian expatriates in the United States 19th-century dentists