The man behind "degrees Celsius"

This is a book about an unknown person with a well-known name, Anders Celsius, a book about his life and works. It is, thereby, also a book about the beginning of systematically investigating the Earth and its changes. Celsius may be characterized as a pioneer in investigating the Earth by means of [...]
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This is a book about an unknown person with a well-known name, Anders Celsius, a book about his life and works. It is, thereby, also a book about the beginning of systematically investigating the Earth and its changes. Celsius may be characterized as a pioneer in investigating the Earth by means of systematic observations and by collecting long series of numerical data. In the early 1700s he and his assistants measured and studied latitude, longitude, gravity, magnetism, sea level change, land uplift, air pressure, temperature and northern lights. Much of Celsius' inspiration for his works came from his participation in an international expedition to the Arctic Circle, the purpose of which was nothing less than trying to confirm the theories of Newton. In many respects Celsius concentrated on utilizing Sweden's northerly position on the Earth, promoting such investigations that could not easily be made in more southerly countries. This book is the story of the life and works of a man who started from meagre circumstances in an isolated northern university but developed into a pioneering Earth scientist with international contacts. It is also the story of a scientist who was engaged in creating an observatory and supporting an academy for the benefit of society but who died in the middle of his activities. And it is also the story of a person who made friends easily everywhere but never found someone with whom to share a common life. In short: This is a book about science, about history, about people and about a life. The book is published by the Summer Institute for Historical Geophysics, Åland Islands.