Nils Rosén von Rosenstein

Nils Rosén von Rosenstein was a Swedish physician of the eighteenth century, born in 1706 and dead in 1773, who is regarded as the founder of modern pediatrics. His book on the diseases of children and their remedies, first published in Swedish in 1764 and later translated into English, Dutch, Danish, French, Italian, German and Japanese, has been called the first modern textbook on the subject. He took his medical degree at Harderwijk in 1730, taught at Uppsala University, where he became professor of medicine in 1740, and served as First Physician to the King of Sweden from 1743 under four successive monarchs. He was a rival and later a colleague and friend of Carl Linnaeus, and he was ennobled in 1762. A medal that bears his name is still awarded for work in pediatrics.