Who Was Anders Celsius?
Anders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician who also taught astronomy for a large portion of his career. In 1972, he created a new form of measuring temperature called centigrade. After his death, the name of this scale was changed to Celsius to honour him.
What Was Anders Celsius’ Career Like?
Much of his work was focused on astronomy and making discoveries that are taken for granted today. For example, he published a study on the distance between the Sun and the Earth. He also noted that there was a connection between changes in Earth’s magnetic field and Aurora Borealis, also known as the northern lights. Much of his work involved travelling between European observatories, measuring degrees of latitude, and comparing measurements, which confirmed that the Earth was an ellipsoid (0.3% wider than it is tall) rather than a perfect sphere. He was also part of a French expedition in 1736 and 1737 that helped measure gravity.
He is known for creating the scale that today is known as Celsius, having the idea that zero should represent water boiling, and 100 should represent freezing, a scale that was reversed by Carl Linnaeus. He proposed the idea to the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala in 1972. In 1975, a year after his death, the scale was named after him.
What Was Anders Celsius’ Personal Life Like?
Anders Celsius was born on November 27, 1701, and passed away on April 25, 1744, of tuberculosis, living to only 42. Both his birth and death occurred in Uppsala, Sweden. He never married and is not known to have any biological children.
