Theodor Svedberg (30 August 1884 – 25 February 1971; also known as The Svedberg) was a Swedish chemist and

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

for his research on

colloid A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a liquid, while others exte ...

s and proteins using the ultracentrifuge. Svedberg was active 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 ...

from the mid-1900s to late 1940s. While at Uppsala, Svedberg started as a docent before becoming the university's

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

head in 1912. After leaving Uppsala in 1949, Svedberg was in charge of the Gustaf Werner Institute until 1967. Apart from his 1926 Nobel Prize, Svedberg was named a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 1944 and became part of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1945.

Early life and education

Svedberg was born in Valbo, Sweden on 30 August 1884. He was the son of Augusta Alstermark and Elias Svedberg. Growing up, Svedberg enjoyed botany and other branches of science. While in

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

, Svedberg conducted individual laboratorial research and performed scientific demonstrations. For his post-secondary education, Svedberg entered a chemistry program at

in the early mid 1900s. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1905, his master's degree in 1907, and in 1908, he earned his Ph.D.

Career

While at Uppsala, Svedberg started his scientific career in 1905 as an assistant chemist with the university. After becoming a chemistry docent for Uppsala in 1907, he became the university's

head in 1912. For his academic tenure, Svedberg remained with Upsala until 1949. During the early 1920s, he also temporarily taught for the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. After leaving Uppsala, Svedberg led the Gustaf Werner Institute from 1949 to 1967.

Research

Svedberg's work with

s supported the theories of Brownian motion put forward by

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

and the Polish physicist Marian Smoluchowski. During this work, he developed the technique of analytical ultracentrifugation, and demonstrated its utility in distinguishing pure

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

s one from another.

Awards and honours

The unit

svedberg In chemistry, a Svedberg unit or svedberg (symbol S, sometimes Sv) is a non- SI metric unit for sedimentation coefficients. The Svedberg unit offers a measure of a particle's size indirectly based on its sedimentation rate under acceleration ...

(symbol S), a unit of time amounting to 10⁻¹³ s or 100 fs, is named after him, as well as The Svedberg Laboratory in Uppsala. Svedberg's candidacy for the Royal Society reads: Svedberg was elected an International 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 1941. After becoming a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 1944, Svedberg was named to the

in 1945. He was elected to the

in 1948. From the 1910s to 1920s, Svedberg was awarded the Björkénska priset three times from Uppsala University for his contributions to science in Sweden. From the Franklin Institute, Svedberg was given the Franklin Medal in 1949 for his work with the ultracentrifuge.

Death and personal life

On 25 February 1971, Svedberg died in Kopparberg, Sweden. He was married four times and had a total of twelve children. His widow died in 2019.

References

External links

* including the Nobel Lecture, 19 May 1927 ''The Ultracentrifuge'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Svedberg, Theodor 1884 births 1971 deaths People from Gävle Municipality Swedish chemists Nobel laureates in Chemistry Swedish Nobel laureates Uppsala University alumni Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Foreign members of the Royal Society Foreign members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala Recipients of Franklin Medal International members of the American Philosophical Society