Niels Ryberg Finsen

Niels Ryberg Finsen (15 December 1860 – 24

September 1904) was a Faroese-Icelandic physician and Niels Ryberg Finsen
scientist. In 1903, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Medicine and Physiology "in recognition of his
contribution to the treatment of diseases, especially lupus
vulgaris, with concentrated light radiation, whereby he
has opened a new avenue for medical science."[1]

Biography
Niels Finsen was born in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, as the
second-oldest of four children. His father was Hannes
Finsen, who belonged to an Icelandic family with
traditions reaching back to the 10th century, and his
mother was Johanne Formann from Falster, Denmark.[2]

The family moved to Tórshavn from Iceland in 1858 Born 15 December 1860
when his father was given the position of Landfoged.[3] Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
When Niels was four years old his mother died, and his
Died 24 September 1904 (aged 43)
father married her cousin Birgitte Kirstine Formann, with
Copenhagen, Denmark
whom he had six children. In 1871 his father was made
Citizenship Danish
Amtmand of the Faroe Islands. His father was a member
of the Faroese parliament for 12 years, and his older Alma mater University of Copenhagen
brother Olaf similarly became a member of parliament, Known for Phototherapy
for five years, as well as the first mayor of the capital, Awards Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Tórshavn.[4][5] Medicine (1903)
Cameron Prize for Therapeutics
Finsen got his early education in Tórshavn, but in 1874
of the University of Edinburgh
was sent to the Danish boarding school Herlufsholm,
(1904)
where his older brother Olaf was also a student. Unlike
Olaf, Niels had a difficult stay at Herlufsholm,
culminating with a statement from the principal which claimed Niels was "a boy of good heart but low skills
and energy".[6] As a consequence of his low grades and difficulties with the Danish language, he was sent to
Iceland in 1876 to enroll in his father's old school, Lærði skólinn, in Reykjavík.[7] By the time he graduated
he was 21 years old and finished 11th out of 15 students.[8]

Studies in medicine
In 1882, Finsen moved to Copenhagen to study medicine at the University of Copenhagen, from which he
graduated in 1890. Because he had studied in Iceland before moving to Copenhagen to study, he enjoyed
privileged admission to Regensen, which is the most prestigious college dormitory in Denmark.
Prioritisation of Icelandic and Faroese individuals in the admission process was official Danish government
policy that had been put in place in order to integrate the educated elites of its colonies with the university
population in Copenhagen.[9] Following graduation, he became a prosector of anatomy at the university.
After three years, he quit the post to devote himself fully to his scientific studies. In 1898 Finsen was given
a professorship and in 1899 he became a Knight of the Order of Dannebrog.

The Finsen Institute was founded in 1896, with Finsen serving as its first director. It was later merged into
Copenhagen University Hospital and currently serves as a cancer research laboratory that specializes in
proteolysis.

Finsen suffered from Niemann–Pick disease, which inspired him to sunbathe and investigate the effects of
light on living things.[2] As a result, Finsen developed a theory of phototherapy, stating that certain
wavelengths of light have beneficial medical effects.[10] His most important writings were Finsen Om Lysets
Indvirkninger paa Huden ("On the effects of light on the skin"), published in 1893 and Om Anvendelse i
Medicinen af koncentrerede kemiske Lysstraaler ("The use of concentrated chemical light rays in
medicine"), published in 1896. The papers were soon translated into both German and French. In later work
he researched the effects of sodium chloride, observing the results of a low sodium diet, which he published
in 1904 as En Ophobning af Salt i Organismen ("An accumulation of salt in the organism").[2]

Finsen won the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1903 for his work on phototherapy. He was the first
Scandinavian to win the prize and is the only Faroese Nobel Laureate in physiology to date. In 1904, Finsen
was awarded the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh.

Personal life
Finsen married Ingeborg Balslev (1868–1963) on 29 December 1892.

Finsen's health began to fail in the mid-1880s. He had symptoms of heart trouble and suffered from ascites
and general weakness. The sickness disabled his body but not his mind, and he continued to work from his
wheelchair. He died in Copenhagen on 24 September 1904. Accounts of his funeral can be found at the
National Library of Medicine.[11]

Memorials
The Finsen Laboratory at Copenhagen University Hospital is named in his honor. Finsensvej in
Frederiksberg is also named in his honor and so was the Finsen Power Station, which was located on its
north side.

A large memorial to Finsen designed by Rudolph Tegner was installed next to Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen
in 1909. It shows a standing naked man flanked by two kneeling naked women reaching up to the sky, with
a third behind his back. The sculpture is entitled Mod lyset (Towards the Light), and symbolised Finsen's
principal scientific theory that sunlight can have healing properties. It is situated on the corner of
Blegdamsvej and Nørre Allé.[12]
In Tórshavn there is also a memorial to Finsen and one of the city's main streets, Niels Finsens gøta, bears
his name. Kommunuskúlin, the old public school in central Tórshavn is rebuilt for student housing with the
new name Finsen.[13]

References
1. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1903" ([Link]
edicine/laureates/1903/). [Link]. Nobel Media AB. 2014. Archived ([Link]
org/web/20161022202413/[Link]
from the original on 2016-10-22.
2. "Niels Ryberg Finsen - Biographical" ([Link]
03/[Link]). [Link]. Nobel Media AB. 2014. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
3. "Landfoged" ([Link]
ndfoged). Den Store Danske (in Danish). 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
4. da:Olaf Finsen (apoteker)
5. da:Hannes Finsen (stiftamtmand)
6. Nielsen, Louis (2002). "Niels Ryberg Finsen: Danmarks første Nobelpristager" ([Link]
[Link]/louis/andreart/Niels_Finsen.html) [Niels Ryberg Finsen: Denmark's first Nobel Prize
winner]. Rostras Forlag (in Danish). Retrieved 2015-11-08.
7. "Niels Finsen" ([Link]
elinger-og-klinikker/finsen/om-finsencentret/Sider/[Link]). Archived from the original
([Link]
[Link]) on 2018-01-07. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
8. "Niels Ryberg Finsen – Danmarks første Nobelpristager" ([Link]
iels_Finsen.html).
9. [Link]
10. Grzybowski, Andrzej; Pietrzak, Krzysztof (2012). "From patient to discoverer-Niels Ryberg
Finsen (1860-1904)-the founder of phototherapy in dermatology" ([Link]
t/publication/230628338) (PDF). Clinics in Dermatology. 30 (4): 451–455.
doi:10.1016/[Link].2011.11.019 ([Link]
9). PMID 22855977 ([Link]
11. "Memoir of Funeral of Niels Ryberg Finsen, and Clippings 1904" ([Link]
en095). National Library of Medicine.
12. "Mod Lyset" ([Link]
e&id=22) [Towards the Light]. Copenhagen Municipality (in Danish). Retrieved 2013-09-17.
13. "Tey fyrstu eru flutt í Finsen" ([Link]
urifinsen).

External links
Works by or about Niels Ryberg Finsen ([Link]
t%3A%22Finsen%2C%20Niels%20Ryberg%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Finsen%2C%20N
iels%20R%2E%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Finsen%2C%20N%2E%20R%2E%22%20O
R%20subject%3A%22Niels%20Ryberg%20Finsen%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Niels%20
R%2E%20Finsen%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22N%2E%20R%2E%20Finsen%22%20OR%
20subject%3A%22Finsen%2C%20Niels%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Niels%20Finsen%2
2%20OR%20creator%3A%22Niels%20Ryberg%20Finsen%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Ni
els%20R%2E%20Finsen%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22N%2E%20R%2E%20Finsen%22%
20OR%20creator%3A%22N%2E%20Ryberg%20Finsen%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Fins
en%2C%20Niels%20Ryberg%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Finsen%2C%20Niels%20R%2
 E%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Finsen%2C%20N%2E%20R%2E%22%20OR%20creator%
3A%22Finsen%2C%20N%2E%20Ryberg%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Niels%20Finsen%2
2%20OR%20creator%3A%22Finsen%2C%20Niels%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Niels%20Ryb
erg%20Finsen%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Niels%20R%2E%20Finsen%22%20OR%20title%
3A%22N%2E%20R%2E%20Finsen%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Niels%20Finsen%22%20O
R%20description%3A%22Niels%20Ryberg%20Finsen%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Ni
els%20R%2E%20Finsen%22%20OR%20description%3A%22N%2E%20R%2E%20Finsen%2
2%20OR%20description%3A%22Finsen%2C%20Niels%20Ryberg%22%20OR%20descriptio
n%3A%22Finsen%2C%20Niels%20R%2E%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Niels%20Fins
en%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Finsen%2C%20Niels%22%29%20OR%20%28%2218
60-1904%22%20AND%20Finsen%29%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29) at the
Internet Archive
Niels Ryberg Finsen ([Link] on [Link]
Niels Finsen, an engine of our ingenuity ([Link]
An extensive biography on Niels Finsen (in Danish only) ([Link]
els_Finsen.html)
The Finsen Institute at Copenhagen University Hospital ([Link] Archived (htt
ps://[Link]/web/20090409111142/[Link] 2009-04-09 at the
Wayback Machine
Our Friend, the Sun: Images of Light Therapeutics from the Osler Library Collection, c. 1901-
1944 ([Link] Digital exhibition by the Osler Library of the History of
Medicine, McGill University
Niels Ryberg Finsen ([Link] at Find a Grave

Retrieved from "[Link]