Karl Thorsten Gunnar Andersson (23 February 1929 – 4 April 2018) was a Swedish

toponymist Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...

, and a former professor of linguistics 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 ...

Biography

Karl Thorsten Gunnar Andersson was born in

Ödeshög Municipality Ödeshög Municipality () is a Municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Östergötland County, Sweden. The seat is situated in the small town of Ödeshög. The coat of arms was created in 1972 at the time the modern municipalities of Sweden were ...

, Sweden on 23 February 1929. He was an associate professor of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

at the

University of Münster The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...

from 1957 to 1960. Andersson received his PhD from

in 1965, where he subsequently became a

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

Nordic languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...

. From 1971 to 1994, Andersson was Professor of Linguistics at Uppsala University. Andersson specialized in

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...

. He was the publisher of '' Namn och bygd'' and co-publisher of '' Studia Anthroponymica Scandinavica''. He was the author of a large number of books and articles on Swedish

place name Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...

s and personal names. Andersson was a member of the

Royal Society of the Humanities at Uppsala The Royal Society of the Humanities at Uppsala () is a Swedish Royal academy for the study of the humanities. Founding The society was founded in 1889 by a donation from tannery factory owner Jacob Westin in Stockholm who gave SEK 50,000 in his ...

, the

Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy The Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy () in Uppsala is one of 18 Swedish royal academies and dedicated to the study of Swedish folklore. Its name is often expanded to ("...for Swedish Folk Culture"). The Academy was founded on 6 November 1932, on ...

, the

Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters ({{Langx, da, Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab or ''Videnskabernes Selskab'') is a Danish academy of science. The Royal Danish Academy was established on 13 November 1742, and was create ...

, the

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademien abbreviated KVHAA ( or or ) is the Sweden, Swedish Swedish Royal Academies, royal academy for the Humanities. Its ...

and the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

. He died on 4 April 2018.

Selected works

* ''Svenska häradsnamn'', 1965 * ''Namn i Norden och det forna Europa'', 1989

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersson, Thorsten 1929 births 2018 deaths Germanic studies scholars Linguists from Sweden Linguists of Germanic languages Members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters Members of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy People from Ödeshög Municipality Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Toponymists Academic staff of the University of Münster Academic staff of Uppsala University