Oscar Almgren

Oscar Almgren studied under the Swedish archaeologists Hans Hildebrand and Oscar Montelius. The latter was a leading archaeologist in Europe at the time, and also a childhood friend of Almgren's father. In 1908 Almgren became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, and in 1913 he became Sweden's first professor of Scandinavian and Comparative Archaeology, teaching at Uppsala University. Increasing blindness eventually made the position untenable, and in 1925 Almgren had to leave his post; two years later Sune Lindqvist, a former student, took the professorship. Oscar Almgren's son, Bertil Almgren, was born in 1918, when Oscar Almgren was in his 50s. With his son's help and a photographic memory, Oscar Almgren was able to continue his research; Bertil Almgren, as a child, would read academic texts out loud to his father, and starting from the age of eight would accompany him to the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, taking notes of lectures and discussions. The experiences were formative for Bertil Almgren, who in 1965 became, like his father, a professor of Scandinavian and Comparative Archaeology at Uppsala University.