Ernst Axel Henrik Key (25 October 1832 – 27 December 1901) was a Swedish pathologist, member of parliament, writer and rector at

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consist ...

Biography

Upbringing and education

Key was born in 1832 in Johannisberg in Flisby

socken Socken is the name used for a part of a county in Sweden. In Denmark similar areas are known as ''sogn'', in Norway ''sokn'' or ''sogn'' and in Finland ''pitäjä'' ''(socken)''. A socken is a country-side area that was formed around a church, ...

Jönköping County Jönköping County ( sv, Jönköpings län) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in Sept ...

, Sweden, to Henrik Key, a captain in the armed forces, and Caroline Vilhelmine Åberg. They were distantly related to the author

Ellen Key Ellen Karolina Sofia Key (; 11 December 1849 – 25 April 1926) was a Swedish difference feminist writer on many subjects in the fields of family life, ethics and education and was an important figure in the Modern Breakthrough movement. She was ...

. Key was a cousin of and uncle of and . Key enrolled at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion He worked as assistant surgeon for two years in Stockholm. He received his

doctor of medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

degree in 1862 after having defended his doctorate the previous year with the thesis ('On changes in the taste buds in the frog tongue'). During his time as a doctoral student, he spent some time in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where he was an assistant to the

Darwinian Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...

and

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Rudolf Virchow Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow (; or ; 13 October 18215 September 1902) was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician. He is known as "the father of modern pathology" and as the founder ...

in his department of pathology at the Charité Hospital. From 1860 to 1861 he also studied under

Max Schultze Max Johann Sigismund Schultze (25 March 1825 – 16 January 1874) was a German microscopic anatomist noted for his work on cell theory. Biography Schultze was born in Freiburg im Breisgau (Baden). He studied medicine at Greifswald and Berlin, an ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

. The year before Key received his doctorate, he was appointed temporary professor of

pathological anatomy Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination ...

at the

, and in 1862 he was appointed full professor. Among his achievements was arranging for a pathological laboratory for the institution, and he introduced

cellular pathology Cytopathology (from Greek , ''kytos'', "a hollow"; , ''pathos'', "fate, harm"; and , ''-logia'') is a branch of pathology that studies and diagnoses diseases on the cellular level. The discipline was founded by George Nicolas Papanicolaou in 19 ...

into Swedish medical science.

Family

In 1863, he married Selma Charlotta Godenius, daughter of and Maria Charlotta Norbin. The couple had eight children; Maria, Thorsten, Ebba, and Astri died prior to adulthood. Their surviving children were sons , a newspaperman, and , a surgeon, as well as daughters Selma Elise, who married surgeon , and Thyra Ingeborg, who married doctor .

Political involvement

Possibly under the influence of Virchow, Key was liberal, and joined the

Second Chamber Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

in 1882, where he served on the education committee. In this position, Key worked to improve hygiene in the schools, and was able to prove that some pupils were mentally and physically overworked; a pioneering view of human nature for its time. He left

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1887. Key was quite patriotic and a Scandiavist, supporting cooperation between the Scandinavian countries.

Work, interests, and titles

Anatomist

Gustaf Retzius Prof Magnus Gustaf (or Gustav) Retzius FRSFor HFRSE MSA (17 October 1842 – 21 July 1919) was a Swedish physician and anatomist who dedicated a large part of his life to researching the histology of the sense organs and nervous system. Life ...

worked as an assistant under Key; they would have a long partnership. In 1875–1876 they published ('Studies in the anatomy of the nervous system and connective tissue'), for which they received the

Montyon Prize The Montyon Prize (french: Prix Montyon) is a series of prizes awarded annually by the French Academy of Sciences and the Académie française. They are endowed by the French benefactor Baron de Montyon. History Prior to the start of the French R ...

, an award from the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...

, and international acclaim. With this work, they innovated

neurology Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...

and

neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...

. In 1882–1885, Key wrote an 800-page medical and social science study of the state of health of Swedish schoolchildren. This is considered one of the most influential and elaborate works of its time, and for a long time was to form the basis for how hygienic investigations were to be carried out in Sweden. Key found that schoolchildren became sicker the older they got. He found that as many as 80 percent of the students had long-term illnesses. However, at that time

myopia Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include ...

was also counted as a long-term illness, and when this is removed, the result is that up to 60% of schoolchildren suffered from some form of long-term illness. For his contribution to the study, he was awarded the Swedish Medical Society's annual prize in 1893 and became internationally known in the field of school hygiene. Key was rector of the Karolinska Institute from 1886 to 1897. He campaigned for the institute to achieve full equality with the medical faculties at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) 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 opera ...

and Lund University, but this did not materialize during this period. He also made a name for himself there through his speeches at the professorial inaugurations, which dealt with the history of Swedish medicine. Key was also a pioneer as a writer and cultural figure. He founded '' Medicinskt Archiv'' (today ''Journal of Internal Medicine'') in 1863 with colleagues at the Karolinska Institute, its successor in 1869, and the popular science together with Retzius. In 1862 he and Harald Wieselgren were part of founding the men's association Sällskapet Idun. He was a close friend of

Artur Hazelius Artur Immanuel Hazelius (30 November 1833 – 27 May 1901) was a Swedish teacher, scholar, folklorist and museum director. He was the founder of both the Nordic Museum (''Nordiska museet'') and the Skansen open-air museum in Stockholm. Ba ...

and supported him in the establishment of the

Nordic Museum The Nordic Museum ( sv, Nordiska museet) is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period (in Swedish history, it is said to be ...

and

Skansen Skansen (; "the Sconce") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts of S ...

. Like Hazelius, Key was also interested in Old Norse history. Key and his family would later build in 1867, designed by architect and named after the legendary

Battle of Bråvalla A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 8th-century Sweden. Key was the president of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) 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 ...

(1871), the

Royal Physiographic Society in Lund The Royal Physiographic Society in Lund ( sv, Kungliga Fysiografiska Sällskapet i Lund), is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. It was founded in Lund, on December 2, 1772, and received a Royal Charter by Gustav III, on March 6, 1778.

(1878), the

Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskaps- och Vitterhets-Samhället i Göteborg, abbreviated KVVS and often known simply as ''Samhället'') is a Swedish Royal Academy. Its predecessor was founded in Gothenburg ...

(1878), the

Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskaps-Societeten i Uppsala), is the oldest of the royal academies in Sweden, having been founded in 1710. The society has, by royal decree of 1906, 50 Swedish fellows and 100 foreign. ...

(1880) and became an honorary doctor of philosophy at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1879. Key was president of the

from 1887 to 1888.

Death

Key was diagnosed with cancer in 1894 and underwent several operations in the last few years of his life. He died on 27 December 1901 in Kungsholm or Ulrika Eleonora parish, Stockholm County, Sweden. He is buried in

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Nota ...

References

Notes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Axel 1832 births 1901 deaths Swedish pathologists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Physiographic Society in Lund Members of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg Karolinska Institute faculty Members of the Andra kammaren Montyon Prize laureates Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala