Astrid Cleve
Encyclopedia
Astrid M. Cleve von Euler (22 January 1875 - 8 April 1968) was a Swedish
botanist, geologist
, chemist
and researcher at Uppsala University
. She was the first female in Sweden
to obtain a doctoral degree of science
.
and professor Per Teodor Cleve
and Alma Öhbom. She received her education at home and entered Uppsala University
in 1891 to study natural history
. She obtained her doctoral degree on 27 May 1898 at Uppsala University
on a thesis entitled Studies on the time of germination and the juvenile stage of some Swedish plants. She was the third Swedish
woman to do so, and the first in a scientific
discipline. From 1898 to 1904, she was employed at the Chemical Institution at Stockholms högskola (later Stockholm University
), which at that time was a private institution that could hire women, in contrast to the state universities in Uppsala
and Lund
. There she met the German
- Swedish
biochemist
and later Nobel laureate Hans von Euler-Chelpin
. They married in 1902 and she took the name Astrid Cleve von Euler. She worked as her husband's assistant (they published together on organic chemistry
) and raised five children, one of them being the later physiologist and Nobel laureate Ulf von Euler
. The marriage was broken in 1912. From 1911 to 1917, Astrid Cleve acted as a teacher in Stockholm
and from 1917-1923 she was head of a mining laboratory. She then moved to the countryside, managed a farm and educated private students. In the 1930s, she returned to Uppsala University
and the Institution of Quaternary Geology. In 1955 she was appointed a titular professor by the Swedish government.
As a scientist, she worked on diverse topics of biology
, quaternary geology and chemistry
. She became a world-leading expert on diatoms and published her magnum opus on them - Die Diatomeen von Schweden und Finnland in five volumes. This monumental work contains information on systematics and ecology of diatoms of brackish
and freshwater
, both extant and fossil. Another important research topic was post-glacial sea level changes and land uplift. Her – now refuted – theory was strongly criticized by contemporary geologists, e.g. Lennart von Post
. Her publications of empirical investigations were gradually met with obstacles in standard vehicles of scholarly communication, so she let many papers print at her own risk.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
botanist, geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
, chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and researcher at Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
. She was the first female in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
to obtain a doctoral degree of science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
.
Life
Astrid Cleve was born into academic life. She was daughter of the chemistChemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and professor Per Teodor Cleve
Per Teodor Cleve
Per Teodor Cleve was a Swedish chemist and geologist.After graduating from the Stockholm Gymnasium in 1858, Cleve matriculated at Uppsala University in May 1858, where he received his PhD in 1863...
and Alma Öhbom. She received her education at home and entered Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
in 1891 to study natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
. She obtained her doctoral degree on 27 May 1898 at Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
on a thesis entitled Studies on the time of germination and the juvenile stage of some Swedish plants. She was the third Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
woman to do so, and the first in a scientific
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
discipline. From 1898 to 1904, she was employed at the Chemical Institution at Stockholms högskola (later Stockholm University
Stockholm University
Stockholm University is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. It has over 28,000 students at four faculties, making it one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is also frequently regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world...
), which at that time was a private institution that could hire women, in contrast to the state universities in Uppsala
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
and Lund
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
. There she met the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
biochemist
Biochemist
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
and later Nobel laureate Hans von Euler-Chelpin
Hans von Euler-Chelpin
Hans Karl August Simon von Euler-Chelpin was a German-born Swedish biochemist. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1929 with Arthur Harden for their investigations on the fermentation of sugar and fermentative enzymes.He was professor of general and organic chemistry at Stockholm University...
. They married in 1902 and she took the name Astrid Cleve von Euler. She worked as her husband's assistant (they published together on organic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
) and raised five children, one of them being the later physiologist and Nobel laureate Ulf von Euler
Ulf von Euler
Ulf Svante von Euler was a Swedish physiologist and pharmacologist. He won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1970 for his work on neurotransmitters.-Life:...
. The marriage was broken in 1912. From 1911 to 1917, Astrid Cleve acted as a teacher in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and from 1917-1923 she was head of a mining laboratory. She then moved to the countryside, managed a farm and educated private students. In the 1930s, she returned to Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
and the Institution of Quaternary Geology. In 1955 she was appointed a titular professor by the Swedish government.
As a scientist, she worked on diverse topics of biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, quaternary geology and chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
. She became a world-leading expert on diatoms and published her magnum opus on them - Die Diatomeen von Schweden und Finnland in five volumes. This monumental work contains information on systematics and ecology of diatoms of brackish
Brackish water
Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salty"...
and freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
, both extant and fossil. Another important research topic was post-glacial sea level changes and land uplift. Her – now refuted – theory was strongly criticized by contemporary geologists, e.g. Lennart von Post
Lennart von Post
Ernst Jakob Lennart von Post was a Swedish naturalist and geologist. He was the first to publish quantitative analysis of pollen and is counted as one of the founders of palynology. He was a professor at Stockholm University 1929-1950.-Early life:Lennart von Post was born in Johannesberg, near...
. Her publications of empirical investigations were gradually met with obstacles in standard vehicles of scholarly communication, so she let many papers print at her own risk.
Selected scientific works
- On recent freshwater diatoms from Lule Lappmark in Sweden (1895)
- Studier öfver några svenska växters groningstid och förstärkningsstadium (1898) Dissertation
- Bidrag till kännedomen om ytterbiumYtterbiumYtterbium is a chemical element with the symbol Yb and atomic number 70. A soft silvery metallic element, ytterbium is a rare earth element of the lanthanide series and is found in the minerals gadolinite, monazite, and xenotime. The element is sometimes associated with yttrium or other related...
(1901) - Cyclotella bodanica i Anclussjön: Skattmansöprofilen ännu en gång (1911)
- Försök till analys av Nordens senkvartära nivåförändringar (1923), Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar
- The diatoms of Finnish Lapland (1934)
- Sundets plankton: sammansättning och fördelning (1937)
- Bacillariaceen-assoziationen im nördlichsten Finnland (1939)
- Natur und Alter der Strandflächen Finnlands: Eine spätquartäre Rekonstruktion (1943)
- Die diatomeen von Schweden und Finnland I-V (1951-1955)
- Was war der Svea älv? (1957)