Anders Celsius, a Swedish astronomer, is credited with developing the Celsius temperature scale. In 1740, Celsius also constructed the Uppsala Astronomical Observatory, Sweden's oldest astronomical observatory.
Anders Celsius was born in Uppsala, Sweden, and was raised as a Lutheran. Nils Celsius, his father, was an astronomy professor. Celsius finished his education in his hometown, which is located north of Stockholm. From a young age, he displayed a remarkable aptitude for mathematics. He studied astronomy at Uppsala University, where he joined as a professor of astronomy in 1730, just like his father.
Contributions and Achievements:
From 1732 to 1734, Celsius visited various notable European astronomy locations in his quest to create an astronomical observatory in Sweden. English and French astronomers were debating the form of the earth at the time.
Teams were dispatched to the "ends" of the earth to assess the specific local positions in order to settle the disagreement. The voyage to the north was led by Pierre Louis de Maupertuis, with Celsius as his assistant.
From 1736 to 1737, the voyage to Lapland, Sweden's far north, continued. After all measurements were gathered, Newton's idea about the flattening of the earth near the poles was eventually validated in 1744.
After the expedition, Celsius returned to Uppsala. He is credited with being the first astronomer to use measuring tools to examine changes in the earth's magnetic field during a northern light and to estimate the brightness of stars.
At the Uppsala Observatory, Celsius supported the split of a mercury thermometer's temperature scale into 100°C at 760mm mercury pressure, with 100 representing the freezing point and 0 representing the boiling point of water.
This account was regarded to be more precise than Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit and Rene-Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur's due to the detailed fixing of the measuring environment and methods.
Celsius was a strong supporter of the Gregorian calendar, which was adopted in Sweden only nine years after his death, in 1753. The temperature interval unit "degree Celsius" was named for this remarkable scientist.
Celsius's Later Life and Death: At 1725, he was appointed secretary of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala, a position he held until his death. In 1744, he died of TB.