Claes Adolf Adelsköld (7 September 1824 – 1 October 1907) was a Swedish

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, author,

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officer and member of the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the

Parliament of Sweden The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportionally and serving, since 1994, f ...

Background

Adelsköld was born at Nolhaga in

Alingsås Municipality Alingsås Municipality () is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the stad (Sweden), city of Alingsås. The present municipality was formed in 1974 then the former ''City o ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County () is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1,616,000 amounts to 17% of S ...

, Sweden. He was as a member of the noble Adelsköld family. His brother Carl Gabriel Adelsköld (1830–1914) was a noted painter.

Military and engineering

He studied at

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology (, commonly referred to as Chalmers) is a private university, private research university located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chalmers focuses on engineering and science, but more broadly it also conducts research ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, serving in the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

Göta Göta is a Sweden, Swedish given name, which is the female equivalent of Gote (disambiguation), Göte. It may refer to: *Göta Ljungberg (1893–1955), Swedish singer *Göta Pettersson (1926–1993), Swedish gymnast Other uses

*Göta, Sweden ...

Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

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and became a lieutenant in 1844 in the

Värmland Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Name Several Latinized version ...

jäger regiment; in 1849 he participated in the creation of the first Swedish

open to civilian use. In 1852, he became a lieutenant in the newly organized

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

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, and continued to advance in the Corps until taking leave in 1875, when he was elected a member of the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

. With 26 years in railway and

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

construction, in 1865 he had become an ombudsman for the

Hjälmare kanal Hjälmare Canal ( ) is a 13 kilometres long canal that connects Lake Hjälmaren with Lake Mälaren in Sweden. The canal was taken into use in 1639, aimed to transport iron from the Central Swedish Mining District to Stockholm and further ab ...

Political career

In 1875, he was elected a member of the

of the ''Riksdag'' (which at that time was

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

), in which he served until 1893: at first for

Västerbotten County Västerbotten County (), sometimes called Westrobothnia, is a county or '' län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the ...

and later for

Blekinge County Blekinge County () is a county or '' län'' in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden ...

. He was a supporter of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

and showed particular interest in defense issues.

Personal life

In 1867 he bought Steninge Palace (''Steninge Slott'') in

Sigtuna Municipality Sigtuna Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Märsta, approximately north of the Swedish capital, Stockholm. The municipality is a part of Metropolitan Stockholm. The municipality c ...

, where he led an extensive social life with people that included Prince Oscar (the future Oscar II). He sold the castle in 1873 and in 1876 repurchased the traditional family property in Alingsås Municipality, where he built a manor house known as ''Nolhaga slott''. In 1870 he was elected to the Swedish Academy of Sciences, of which he became

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

in 1891. He died 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 ...

and was buried at Stadskyrkogården in Alingsås. Adelsköldsgatan near the railway station in Alingsås was named in his honor.

Partial bibliography

*''En resa till Nordkap'' (1889) ''A trip to the North Cape'' *''Äventyr under en resa till Bornholm'' (1892) ''Adventure during a trip to Bornholm'' *''Utdrag ur mitt dagsverks, o. pro diverse konto'' (2:a uppl. i fyra band, totalt 1764 sidor, Albert Bonniers Förlag, 1899-1901). ''Excerpts from my day-work'' (2nd edition in four volumes, totaling 1764 pages) *''Karl den tolfte och svenskarne. En historisk studie'' (del 1-2, 1903). ''Charles the Twelfth and Swedish trees: A historical study'' *''Uttalanden i malmfrågan'' (1907) ''Statements on the ore issue'' *''Konung Gustaf Eriksson Wasa'' (1907) ''King Gustav Eriksson Vasa''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adelskold, Claes 1824 births 1907 deaths People from Alingsås Municipality Chalmers University of Technology alumni 19th-century Swedish nobility Swedish Army officers Members of the Första kammaren Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Swedish civil engineers Members of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg 19th-century Swedish politicians 19th-century Swedish military personnel Pioneers of rail transport Swedish people in rail transport