Olof Rudbeck the Elder

Olaus Rudbeck (1630–1702) was a Swedish polymath and professor of medicine at Uppsala University. Born in Västerås, the son of Bishop Johannes Rudbeckius, he won fame at twenty-three by describing the lymphatic vessels, Sweden's first major medical discovery. In 1655 he founded Sweden's first botanical garden at Uppsala, and also worked as an architect, astronomer and musician.

His later years were devoted to Atland eller Manheim, a vast history arguing that Sweden was the lost Atlantis and the cradle of all civilization. During Uppsala's great fire of 1702 he directed firefighting from a roof while his house burned; many of his writings and botanical woodblocks were lost. He died in Uppsala shortly afterward.