Sven Nilsson (8 March 1787 – 30 November 1883) was a Swedish

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Life and work

Nilsson was director of the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet (Sweden's natural history museum) from 1828 to 1831, professor of

Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

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 ...

from 1832 to 1856, and rector of Lund University from 1845 to 1846.Chambers' Encyclopedia Volume 10 page 43 Nilsson was a prolific author, publishing large works on different groups of the fauna of Scandinavia. He worked as a field archaeologist and introduced ethnographic perspectives in archaeology. He was made a member of 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 1821. Nilsson corresponded with William Yarrell, acting as the authority on Swedish avifauna for Yarrell's '' History of British Birds (1843)''. For example, Yarrell records Nilsson as saying "it infests every house", referring to the house sparrow. He was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1869.

Legacy

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of turtles, '' Nilssonia'', was named in honor of Nilsson by

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...

in 1872.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Nilsson", p. 191). *The mountain Sven Nilssonfjellet in

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 ...

is also named in his honor.

Books by Nilsson

*''De variis mammalia disponendi modis'' (1812) *''Ornithologia suecica'' (1817–1821) *''Prodromus ichthyologiae scandinavicae'' (1832) *''Observationes ichthyologicae'' (1835) *''Skandinavisk fauna'' (1820–1853) *''Historia molluscorum Sueciae'' (1823) *''Petrificata suecana'' (1827) *''Illuminerade figurer till skandinavisk fauna'' (1832–1840) *''Prodromus ichthyologiae'' (1832) *
Skandinaviska Nordens Ur-invånare
' (1838–1843
2nd ed. 1866
- Sven Nilsson describes four stages of culture transition: 1. Hunting and Fishing 2. Pastoralism 3. Agriculture 4. Civilization *''Die Ureinwohner des skandinavischen Nordens'' (1863–1868) *
The Primitive Inhabitants of Scandinavia: An Essay on Comparative Ethnography
' (3rd ed. 1868)

Life and work

Legacy

Books by Nilsson

See also

References

External links