Olof af Acrel (26 November 1717 – 28 May 1806''Biographiskt lexikon öfver namnkunnige svenske män''. – Ny rev. upplaga. – Stockholm

t al. T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...

Beijer

1835–1875. – Bd. 1–23.), known before his

ennoblement Ennoblement is the conferring of nobility—the induction of an individual into the noble class. Currently only a few kingdoms still grant nobility to people; among them Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Vatican. Depending on time and reg ...

in 1780 as Olof Acrel, was a surgeon and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

of Stockholm, who perfected his knowledge by study in foreign countries and introduced many improvements into Swedish practice. Olof af Acrel was born at Österåker, and was the brother of the missionary

Israel Acrelius Israel Acrelius (December 4, 1714 – April 25, 1800) was a noted Swedish Lutheran missionary and priest. Early life and education He was born in Österåker, Stockholm County, Sweden, in 1714 to Johan and Sara Acrelius ( Gahm). His brother wa ...

. After attending

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

for two years, he trained as a surgeon in Stockholm. From 1740, he spent several years in Germany and France, studying at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

under Albrecht von Haller and also in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and Strasbourg. In 1743, during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

, he was appointed acting chief surgeon at a French military hospital in

Lauterbourg Lauterbourg ( or ; ) (historically in English: Lauterburgh) is a commune and Bas-Rhin department in the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. Situated on the German border and not far from the German city of Karlsruhe, it i ...

, Alsace. A year later, the town was captured by German troops and, after being briefly imprisoned, Acrel returned to Sweden. In 1752, he was appointed chief surgeon of the newly founded Seraphim Hospital in Stockholm, and as professor of surgery in 1755. He was awarded a doctorate of medicine by Uppsala University in 1760. Acrel's discourse on the ''Reforms necessary in Surgical Operations'' made a deep impression. So did his other works, ''On the Mode of Treating Recent Wounds''; ''On Surgery in general''; and ''On the Cataract of the Eye''. He received many honours in recognition of his work. He was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1746. He died in Stockholm.

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