Lars ''Gunnar'' Edvard Nilson (28 September 1872 – 28 March 1951) was a

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 ...

physician. Westermark served as

Surgeon-in-Chief of the Swedish Navy The Surgeon-in-Chief of the Swedish Navy ( sv, marinöverläkaren, MÖL) was from 1902 to 1969 the senior-most officer and head of the Swedish Naval Medical Officers' Corps, responsible for naval surgeons and the overall medical care in the Swedi ...

and head of the

Swedish Naval Medical Officers' Corps The Swedish Naval Medical Officers’ Corps ( sv, Marinläkarkåren, MLK) was an Corps, administrative corps established in 1902 for military physicians in the Swedish Navy and in the Swedish Coastal Artillery. The corps was amalgamated into the Me ...

from 1917 to 1937.

Early life

Nilson was born on 28 September 1872 in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, Sweden, the son of Professor

Lars Fredrik Nilson Lars Fredrik Nilson (27 May 1840 – 14 May 1899) was a Swedish chemist, professor at Uppsala University, and later Director of the Agricultural Chemical Experiment Station at the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry in Stockho ...

and his wife Alva Forssman. He passed '' mogenhetsexamen'' in 1890. He received a Bachelor of Medical Sciences degree from

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 ...

in 1895 and he performed study trips in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Nilson was a doctor

exhibitioner An exhibition is a type of scholarship award or bursary. United Kingdom and Ireland At the universities of Dublin, Oxford, Cambridge and Sheffield, at some public schools, and various other UK educational establishments, an exhibition is a sma ...

in the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

from 1898 to 1902 and received a Licentiate of Medicine degree 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 ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1899.

Career

After several medical employments, including from 1900 to 1903 at Maria Hospital in Stockholm, Nilson became

naval surgeon A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail. Ancient uses Speciali ...

of the 2nd class in the reserve in 1903 and served as naval surgeon of the 1st class and hospital doctor in the surgical department at the Navy's Hospital in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

from 1903 to 1917, whereby he planned and led its rebuilding from 1906 to 1911. Nilson received a Doctor of Medicine degree from

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Swedish Naval Medical Officers' Corps The Swedish Naval Medical Officers’ Corps ( sv, Marinläkarkåren, MLK) was an Corps, administrative corps established in 1902 for military physicians in the Swedish Navy and in the Swedish Coastal Artillery. The corps was amalgamated into the Me ...

in 1916. Nilson served as

and head of the

as well as head of the

Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration The Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration ( sv, Kungliga Marinförvaltningen, KMF) was the central board of the Swedish Navy in technical and economic terms. It was active between the years 1878 and 1968 when it was disbanded and amalgamated ...

's Sanitation Department from 1917 to 1937. In addition, he was from 1919 to 1940 the chief physician in the insurance company ''Lifförsäkrings-aktiebolaget De förenade'' and chief physician at the Reservespital XV in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1916 and the Swedish government representative at the International Red Cross Conferences in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

in 1925 and in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in 1928 as well as at the International Congress of Military Medicine and Pharmacy in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1929. Among his assignments it may also be mentioned that he was chairman of experts regarding the employment of military doctors at civilian hospitals in 1918 and regarding new regulations for the navy in 1927, board member of the Swedish Insurance Association (''Svenska försäkringsföreningen'') from 1922 to 1933 and a member of the Executive Board for ''Allmänna Änke- och Pupillkassan'' from 1926. He was secretary of the Swedish Medical Society from 1919 to 1940 and in the latter year became an honorary member there. Nilson acted emphatically against the questionable merger of the army and navy healthcare system. Among other things, he promoted the application of ophthalmology in the navy and took an interest in the medical aspects of the naval air force. Nilson's approximately fifty writings in naval-hygienic, surgical and scholarly-historical subjects includes ''Sjökrigets kirurgi'' (1913), ''Marinens hälso- och sjukvård'' (1924; 2nd edition 1930), ''Hälso- och sjukvård till sjöss'' (1938), ''Berömda svenska läkare'' (1945) och ''Svenska läkaresällskapet 1908—1938'' (1947, a continuation of the society's centenary history).

Personal life

In 1906, Nilson married Clara Sofia Naumann (born 20 June 1885), with whom he had the children Gunnar (born 1906), Karin (born 1908), Ingrid (born 1913) and Gertrud (born 1916).

Awards and decorations

Swedish Red Cross The Swedish Red Cross (Swedish: ''Svenska Röda Korset'') is a Swedish humanitarian organisation and a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Founded in 1865, its purpose is to prevent and alleviate human suffering where ...

Gold Medal (1923) *Swedish Medical Society Lennmalm Medal in Gold (1947)

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences The Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Örlogsmannasällskapet, KÖMS), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. The Society is an independent organization and a forum for navy and defence i ...

(1908; its secretary 1910—13 and 1914) *Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for m ...

(1921)

Selected bibliography

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilson, Gunnar 1872 births 1951 deaths Swedish military doctors People from Uppsala Naval surgeons Uppsala University alumni Karolinska Institute alumni Lund University alumni Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences