Björn Kurtén (19 November 1924 – 28 December 1988) was a Finnish vertebrate paleontologist and science fiction writer.
Early life and education
Kurtén was born in
Vaasa
Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. He graduated from the Vaasa Svenska Samskola in 1943, but his education was interrupted by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and he did not resume studies until he finished his military service in 1945.
He took courses in 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 ...
studying zoology, chemistry, geology, and paleontology. He went on to study the '' Hipparion'' genus in
Uppsala
Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital 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 inhabitants in 2019.
Loc ...
, Sweden, publishing his first scientific paper on the genus in 1952 before earning his PhD from the University of Helsinki in 1954. Kurtén said that he chose paleontology as his career path because he did not want to do anything "useful".
Scientific career
After receiving his PhD, Kurtén became a Docent at the University of Helsinki, a position he held until 1972. From 1972 until his death, he was a
Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
at the university. Throughout his career, he frequently traveled to study paleontological collections throughout Europe and North America. He also did field work in Sweden, Spain, and Tunisia. He received several fellowships from foreign institutions and lectured at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
.
He was a prominent writer of
popular science
Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...
. For his work in popular science, he received numerous awards including the Finnish state award for popular dissemination of knowledge and
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
's
Kalinga Prize
The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is an award given by UNESCO for exceptional skill in popularization of science, presenting scientific ideas to lay people. It was created in 1952, following a donation from Biju Patnaik, Founder ...
.
Kurtén's research focused primarily on
carnivorans
Carnivora ( ) is an Order (biology), order of Placentalia, placental mammals specialized primarily in eating flesh, whose members are formally referred to as carnivorans. The order Carnivora is the sixth largest order of mammals, comprising at ...
, particularly prehistoric bears and hyenas. He wrote fifteen papers and one book about prehistoric bears and was the first person to study allometry in fossil teeth.
Fiction
Kurtén wrote his first novel in his late teens. He wrote in the genre of prehistoric fiction, combining elements of paleontology with science fiction. He authored a series of books about encounters between humans and
Neanderthals
Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...
, such as '' Dance of the Tiger''. His works of fiction have been translated into over fourteen languages, although only two of his novels, ''Dance of the Tiger'' and ''Singletusk'', have been translated into English.
Personal life
Kurtén married Ruth Nordman in 1950, and they had four children named Solveig, Joachim, Andrea, and Marina. He and his family spent summers in Stängesholmen, where they enjoyed birding, walking, and picking berries. Kurtén enjoyed the sauna, and often went straight from the sauna into cold ocean water, which he said brought out his "viking blood". He did most of his writing in Stängesholmen.
Death and legacy
Kurtén died 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 ...
in 1988 due to complications following brain surgery. The University of Helsinki has a paleontological club called the Björn Kurtén Club, named in his honor.
The prehistoric cat species '' Prionailurus kurteni'' was named after Kurtén in 2024.