 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Gustaf Retzius" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Gustaf Retzius | |
|---|---|
 Gustaf Retzius | |
| Born | 17 October 1842[1] |
| Died | 21 July 1919(1919-07-21) (aged 76)[1] |
| Alma mater | Uppsala University Lund University |
| Known for | Cajal–Retzius cell Nervous system Area postrema |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | histology,neurology |
| Doctoral students | Emil Holmgren |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | G.Retz. |
ProfMagnus Gustaf (orGustav)RetziusFRSFor HFRSEMSA (17 October 1842 – 21 July 1919) was aSwedish physician and anatomist who dedicated a large part of his life to researching thehistology of thesense organs andnervous system.
Retzius was born inStockholm, son of the anatomistAnders Retzius (and grandson of the naturalist and chemistAnders Jahan Retzius). He enrolled atUppsala University in 1860, and received hismedicine kandidat degree there in 1866, transferred to theKarolinska Institute, where he received a Licentiate of Medical Science (Medicine licentiatexamen) degree in 1869 and completed his doctorate in medicine (PhD) in 1871 atLund University. Retzius worked as an assistant under pathologistAxel Key; the two had a long partnership, publishing research together and the popular scienceUr vår tids forskning.[2]
He received an extraordinary professorship inhistology at the Karolinska Institute in 1877 and an ordinary professorship in anatomy there in 1889 (acting from 1888), but resigned in 1890 after conflicts with other members of the institute. As he was married to the feministAnna Hierta, daughter of the founder of the newspaperAftonbladetLars Johan Hierta, his personal wealth allowed him to pursue his research and writing without any stable employment. Moreover, Retzius served as the editor of the newspaperAftonbladet (1884–1887) and was also ajournalist there.
Retzius traveled outside of Europe twice, both times together with his wife Anna. During these trips he was keen to buy ethnographic and archaeological collections for a planned ethnographic museum inStockholm.
In the winter of 1889–1890, they visitedEgypt. Retzius published articles from the trip inAftonbladet, which later came to be published as a bookSkizzer och uppsatser: Bilder från Nilens land (Sketches and essays: Pictures from the Nile country).[3] For two weeks departing fromCairo on Christmas Day, they traveled on theNile. They first traveled up the river to the city ofAswan.[4] There Retzius purchased collections in thebazaars. Soon the sellers realized that Retzius was a customer who could pay and they came to the boat and offered their goods and items directly from the beach. Retzius was looking for skulls for his anthropological studies and managed to acquire 30 "mummies" during an excursion from Aswan to some rock graves across the Nile where a "caretaker" on site sold the skulls to Retzius.[5] Through some English officers he also managed to acquire six skulls from theBattle of Toski. On the way back down the Nile, they visited bothKarnak andLuxor. In Luxor, he managed to buy a total of 125 skulls with the help of consul Ahmed Effendi Moustapha Ayyâd who sent out a person to dig up graves and bring the skulls.[6] Once back in Cairo, Retzius had the opportunity to meet the famousHenry Morton Stanley, who just performed his failed expedition to liberateEmin Pascha.[7] In Cairo, Retzius made further purchases of collections. Large parts of Retzius's collections are available atMedelhavsmuseet[8] in Stockholm and at theMuseum of Ethnography in Stockholm.[9]
During six months beginning in June 1893, the Retzius couple traveled in North America. Just as during the trip to Egypt, an important goal was to buy collections for the future ethnographic museum, as well as to visit colleagues and their institutions. Also during this trip, Retzius reported in articles in Aftonbladet under the heading "Pictures from North America".[10] However, there was never a book. The first visit was toYale and the paleontologistOthniel Charles Marsh who was followed by several other university visits.[11] They visited theWorld's exhibition in Chicago where they, among other things, saw ethnographic exhibitions and also several different indigenous people who performed and danced. Here they met the DanishAdrian Jacobsen and the famousFranz Boas. After the world exhibition, they visited several different places and cities, includingSanta Fe. They get this opportunity to visit an "Indian settlement" outside the city. In Santa Fe there was an antique shop calledJake Gold's Free Museum (Gold's Old Curiosity Shop) where Retzius bought ethnography. For a few weeks, they visited the northwest coast andBritish Columbia. They came to the city ofVictoria, where there were several traders for ethnography, and then traveled on theVancouver Island. InBella Bella, they met Adrian Jacobsen's brother Filip Jacobsen who made it possible for Anna and Gustaf to visit several different places during a 12-day trip and also to purchase ethnographic collections.[12] A large part of the objects in the stores in Victoria had been collected by the Jacobsen brothers. Gustaf and Anna were dismayed at the methods used by the dealers to trick the indigenous people to relinquish older items that were not for sale. They were also critical of the missionaries in the area. Gustaf did not get as many skulls during this trip in comparison to the Egyptian journey, but he managed to acquire four so-called "longhead" skulls.[13][14] The trip home to Sweden went via stops in several cities, includingChicago again,Baltimore andWashington. Large parts of the collections Retzius acquired during his journey can be found at the Ethnographic Museum.[15]
Retzius published more than 300 scientific works in anatomy,embryology,eugenics,craniometry,zoology andbotany. He gave his name to the 60 micrometer-diameter Retzius cells in the central nervous system of theleech (Hirudo medicinalis).
During his time at the Karolinska Institute, he made important contributions to anatomical descriptions of the muscles of theeardrum, the bones of themiddle ear, and theEustachian tube.[1]
His 1896 2-volume workDas Menschenhirn (The Human Brain) was perhaps the most important treatise written on the grossanatomy of thehuman brain during the 19th century.[1]
He also studied ancientSwedish andFinnish skulls,[1] following the steps of his fatherAnders Retzius, who had studied thecrania of different human "races" and made pseudoscientific contributions tophrenology. Retzius was one of the fathers of the pseudoscientific race theory, "scientific racism", trying to glorify the "Nordic race" as the highest race of mankind.[16]
Retzius was politically and socially active. Together with his wife he founded theHierta-Retzius foundation, which is now administered by theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which Retzius was a member of from 1879. The foundation has two funds, one for the promotion of biological research and the other for supporting projects of an important scientific or social nature.
In 1901 Retzius became a member of theSwedish Academy, followingAdolf Erik Nordenskiöld's demise. He was also a member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences. As a result, he took part in the awarding of theNobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry and Literature for years. However, his resignation from his chair in anatomy in 1890 meant that he could not participate directly in the choice of the Physiology or Medicine awardee; although he was an active nominator for that prize from 1901 to 1906, always includingSantiago Ramón y Cajal.[17][18] In addition, he could not send nominations for the other prizes.[18]
During the decision process of the 1906Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Retzius ardently stood up for a sole awarding toSantiago Ramón y Cajal, thus excluding Camillo Golgi. This was the same view held byEmil Holmgren in his report for the Nobel Committee. On the contrary, the evaluation byCarl Sundberg favoured Golgi over Cajal. Before the final decision, the written opinion ofBror Gadelius [sv], who shared Holmgren's views was also taken into account. In the end, Cajal and Golgi were jointly awarded, being the first time this Prize was shared between two laureates.[17]
Retzius himself was also a Nobel Prize nominee himself 23 times, in 11 different years from 1901 to 1916. Curiously, he was nominated by Cajal before 1906 and by Golgi after that year.[18]
He died in 1919 in Stockholm.[1] He was survived by his wife. His seat at theSwedish Academy was taken byAdolf Noreen that same year.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Cultural offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Swedish Academy, Seat No 12 1901-1919 | Succeeded by |
