Johan August Hugo Gyldén (May 29, 1841 in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

– November 9, 1896 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

) was a

Finland-Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish (; ) is a Variety (linguistics), variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population of Finland, Swedish-speaking population, common ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

primarily known for work in

celestial mechanics Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of objects in outer space. Historically, celestial mechanics applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to ...

. Gyldén was the son of Nils Abraham Gyldén, Professor of Classical philology at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

and baroness Beata Sofia Gyldén. He spent his student years at his father's university, graduating as a ''filosofie magister'' from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics in 1860. He studied under Lorenz Leonard Lindelof and then went to do a postdoctoral at Gotha under Peter Hansen working on the orbit of Neptune. In 1871 he was called by the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () 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 responsibility for promoting nat ...

to be its astronomer and head of the

Stockholm Observatory The Stockholm Observatory (, IAU code#050, 050) is an astronomical observatory and institution in Stockholm, Sweden, founded in the 18th century and today part of Stockholm University. In 1931, the new Stockholm Observatory (, IAU code#052, 052), ...

. From 1872 he was a member of the Academy. In 1885 he became foreign member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

. The lunar crater '' Gyldén'' and the minor planet 806 Gyldenia were named in his honor.

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* 1841 births 1896 deaths Finnish astronomers 19th-century Swedish astronomers Swedish-speaking Finns Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Scientists from Helsinki Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Sweden Scientists from the Grand Duchy of Finland 19th-century astronomers from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Cothenius Medal {{Europe-astronomer-stub