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Caspar Bartholin the Elder (; 12 February 1585 – 13 July 1629) was a Danish physician, scientist and theologian.


Biography

Caspar Berthelsen Bartholin was born at Malmø,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
(modern
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
). His precocity was extraordinary; at three years of age he was able to read, and in his thirteenth year he composed
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
orations and delivered them in public. When he was about eighteen he went to 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 ...
and afterwards studied at
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...
and
Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...
. He then travelled through Germany, the Netherlands, England, France and Italy, and was received with marked respect at the different universities he visited. In 1613 he was chosen professor of medicine in 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 ...
and filled that office for eleven years, when, falling into a dangerous illness, he made a vow that if he should recover he would apply himself solely to the study of
divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...
. He later taught
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
at the university and was a
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...
of
Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
. His work, ''Anatomicae Institutiones Corporis Humani'' (1611) was for many years a standard textbook on the subject of
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having i ...
. He was the first to describe the workings of the
olfactory nerve The olfactory nerve, also known as the first cranial nerve, cranial nerve I, or simply CN I, is a cranial nerve that contains sensory nerve fibers relating to the sense of smell. The afferent nerve fibers of the olfactory receptor neurons t ...
.


Personal life

He was married to Anna Fincke, daughter of the mathematician Thomas Fincke. Of his sons, Bertel Bartholin (1614–1690),
Thomas Bartholin Thomas Bartholin (; Latinized as ''Thomas Bartholinus''; 20 October 1616 – 4 December 1680) was a Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian. He is best known for his work in the discovery of the lymphatic system in humans and for hi ...
(1616–1680) and Rasmus Bartholin (1625–1698) were also noted scholars. His grandson
Caspar Bartholin the Younger Caspar Bartholin the Younger (; Latinized: ''Caspar Bartholin Secundus''; 10 September 1655 – 11 June 1738), was a Danish anatomist who first described the "Bartholin's gland" in the 17th century. The discovery of the Bartholin's gland is so ...
(1655–1738) was a noted anatomist. He died on 13 July 1629 at Sorø in
Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...
.Caspar Bartholin - læge ''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon'' Retrieved 1 December 2020


Works

*''Anatomicae Institutiones Corporis Humani'' (1611) *


References


Other sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartholin, Caspar the Elder 1585 births 1629 deaths Danish scientists 17th-century Danish physicians 17th-century Danish scientists Danish Protestant theologians Danish anatomists History of anatomy Medical educators People from Malmö Textbook writers University of Copenhagen alumni University of Copenhagen faculty University of Rostock alumni 17th-century Protestant theologians Rectors of the University of Copenhagen Bartholin family