Brief history and gallery of luminaries

The Uppsala University Faculty of Medicine was established in the 1620s. In the latter part of the 19th century, the Faculty changed radically to espouse science-based medical healthcare and research.

The Faculty of Pharmacy, the only one in Sweden, was instituted in 1968, when the former Pharmaceutical Institute moved from Stockholm and was incorporated into Uppsala University. In 2006 Anders Hallberg, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the Faculty, was appointed Vice Chancellor of Uppsala University.

Over the years, several illustrious pioneers have won international acclaim for their work:

Olof Rudbeck, who was appointed professor of medicine in 1660, performed what has been called the first independent scientific achievement with his discovery of the lymphatic system.
Another well-known pioneer is Nils Rosén von Rosenstein, active in the 18th century, is often called the father of paediatrics owing to his efforts in child health. In 1764 he published the first textbook in paediatrics.
But Uppsala’s most famous professor is without doubt Carl Linnaeus. It’s not surprising that botany was his main interest, as medicine, botany, and pharmacy were virtually the same science at the time. Drugs came from plants, and they were used to cure diseases.
When the new Uppsala University Hospital (Akademiska) was erected in 1867, Emmy Rappe was appointed head nurse of the surgery ward. She was Sweden’s first trained nurse. Emmy Rappe also became the director of the training programme for Swedish nurses.
In medical research, the mantle was passed on to well-known figures like Allvar Gullstrand, who was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his research on the functions of the eye.
The Austrian Robert Bárány won the 1914 Nobel Prize for his studies of the sense of balance. In 1926 he was appointed professor of ear, nose, and throat diseases at Uppsala University.