Prof Sven Ludvig Lovén (6 January 1809 – 3 September 1895), was a Swedish marine zoologist and

malacologist Malacology, from Ancient Greek μαλακός (''malakós''), meaning "soft", and λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (molluscs or mollusks), the second-largest ...

. The Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences within the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...

was named in his honour.

Life

Lovén was born 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 ...

, Sweden. He studied at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () 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 operation. Initially fou ...

in 1823, and enrolled at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

in 1824. He completed his studies with a

Magister degree A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from , "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the doctorate; ...

in 1829. The following year, he was appointed associate professor of zoology at

. During the years 1830–1831, Lovén traveled to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

where he studied anatomy and microscopy techniques under the guidance of

Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (19 April 1795 – 27 June 1876) was a German Natural history, naturalist, zoologist, Botany, botanist, comparative anatomist, geologist, and microscopy, microscopist. He is considered to be one of the most famous an ...

(1795–1876) and

Karl Rudolphi Karl Asmund Rudolphi (14 July 1771 – 29 November 1832) was a Swedish-born German naturalist, who is credited with being the "father of helminthology". Life Rudolphi was born in Stockholm to German parents. He was awarded his PhD in 1793 ...

(1771–1832) at

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. He made scientific journeys in the early 1830s along the Swedish west coast. During 1836–1837, he made a trip to

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

in northern Norway and to

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...

. In 1840, Lovén was elected a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences. In 1841, he was appointed professor and curator at the

Swedish Museum of Natural History The Swedish Museum of Natural History (), in Stockholm, is one of two major museums of natural history in Sweden, the other one being located in Gothenburg. The museum was founded in 1819 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, but goes bac ...

invertebrate department, a position he came to hold until 1892. He was also professor of Natural History at

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

. Between 1870 and 1892, Lovén devoted most of his scientific work to echinoderms, mainly sea urchins. Lovén founded Kristinebergs Marina Research Station at Fiskebäckskil on the island of Skaftö in 1877.

Recognition

In 1871, Lovén was made an external member of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

, in 1872 as a corresponding member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

and in 1875 a member of the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences () was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer. In the 18th century, when Frenc ...

. He was made an honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in 1881 and a Foreign Fellow of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

in 1885. He was admitted into the

Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Göttingen Academy of Sciences (name since 2023 : )Note that the German ''Wissenschaft'' has a wider meaning than the English "Science", and includes Social sciences and Humanities. is the oldest continuously existing institution among the eig ...

in 1886. In 1909, the Royal Academy of Sciences established the Sven Lovén Memorial Fund, which awards the Lovén Medal (''Lovénska medaljen''). Several geographical locations at

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

are named after him. These include the headland Kapp Lovén at

Nordaustlandet Nordaustlandet (Anglicised as North East Land) is the second-largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, with an area of . It lies north east of Spitsbergen, separated by Hinlopen Strait. Much of Nordaustlandet lies under large ice ca ...

, the mountain Lovénberget in Ny-Friesland on

, the lake Lovénvatnet in

Oscar II Land Oscar II Land is the land area between Isfjorden (Svalbard), Isfjorden and Kongsfjorden on Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The long glacier Sveabreen divides Oscar II Land from James I Land. The area is named after Oscar II of Sweden. Older name varian ...

, and the glaciers Lovénbreane at Brøggerhalvøya.

Biological references

The

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

(WoRMS) lists 174 marine species named by Lovén. Many of these have become synonyms. Two species he named, the hydrozoan ''Lovenella clausa'' ( Lovenellidae) and the crustacean ''Lovenula falcifera'' (now '' Paradiaptomus''), were in genera named after him by other zoologists.WoRMS: Species named by Lovén.
Accessed 2015.2.19.

References

External links

Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences – Kristineberg website
* 1809 births 1895 deaths Employees of the Swedish Museum of Natural History Scientists from Stockholm Lund University alumni Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Foreign members of the Royal Society Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Swedish curators Swedish malacologists Marine zoologists Swedish marine biologists Swedish physiologists 19th-century Swedish zoologists Academic staff of Lund University {{zoologist-stub