Alfred Bertelsen

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Alfred Bertelsen (right) with Harald Moltke , Knud Rasmussen and Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen (1902)

Alfred Leopold Bertelsen (born March 5, 1877 in Roskilde , † October 17, 1950 in Frederiksberg ) was a Danish medic and ornithologist . He spent 20 years as a doctor in Uummannaq and wrote fundamental papers on the health of the people of Greenland . In addition, he studied the bird world in Greenland .

Life

After completing his medical studies, he came to Greenland in 1902 with the Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen literary expedition . The aim was to conduct ethnographic field research among the polar Inuit and in particular to record their songs and legends. After wintering in Ilulissat , the expedition went on dog sledding to Upernavik in 1903 , where Bertelsen left them, while the other men moved on via Melville Bay to Saunders Island. He went south and stayed in Uummannaq until 1927, with brief interruptions, as the district doctor for North Greenland . After his return to Denmark, Bertelsen remained a medical advisor (medicinal consultant ) for Greenland until his retirement in 1947.

His fundamental investigations into the state of health of the Greenland population led to numerous scientific treatises, even of a larger extent. In his four-volume work Grønlandsk medicinsk og Nosografi from 1935–1943, he dealt with the conditions that directly or indirectly affected the health of the population, such as population growth, housing and hygiene. In particular, he examined the spread of tuberculosis , which was responsible for 36% of deaths in West Greenland in 1924–1933.

In addition, he was interested in the Greenlandic bird life. He counted and researched the birds in the vicinity of Uummannaq and documented 210 breeding sites of 32  species .

family

Alfred Bertelsen was the son of mayor Frederik Emil Valdemar Bertelsen (1830–1901) and his wife Marie Christine Ingstrup (1854–1927). He married on July 21, 1910 in Uummannaq Johanne Regine Elisabeth Fleischer (1875–1960), the daughter of the commercial administrator Jens Christian Poul Fleischer (1847–1930) and his wife Maren Emilie Mathilde Henningsen (1849–1889).

Fonts (selection)

  • De i Grønland brought fuglenavne and deres betydning (1905)
  • Histories of Jacob's family. En lille laerbog i sundheldspleje for Gronlaendere (1908)
  • Fuglene i Umánaq district (1923)
  • Grønland's compliance statistics 1901–30 (1935)
  • Grønlandsk medicinsk Statistics og Nosografi , 4 volumes (1935–1943)
  • Sundhedsvilkaarene i Greenland (1937)
  • Det sædvanlige grønlandske Sygdomsbillede (1940)
  • Acute infection syndrome in Grønland (1943)
  • Grønlænderne i Danmark. Bidrag til Belysning af grønlandsk Kolonihistorie fra 1605 til before Tid (1945)

Web links

Commons : Alfred Bertelsen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ole Ventegodt: The Litterære Ekspedition . In: Den Store Danske Encyklopædi , accessed on 29 July 2018 (Danish)
  2. ↑ Paarnannguaq Kristiansen: Tuberkulosebekæmpelsen i Grønland. Udvikling and followers in the public tuberculosis research institute in Vestgrønland 1900-1961 . Institute for Cultural and Social History, University of Greenland , Nuuk, 2004 (Danish).
  3. ^ William Burnham, Kurt K. Burnham, Tom J. Cade: Past and present assessments of bird life in Uummannaq District, West Greenland (PDF; 283 kB). In: Dansk Ornitologisk Forenings Tidsskrift . Volume 99, 2005, pp. 196-208 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Bertelsen, Alfred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bertelsen, Alfred Leopold (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish medic and ornithologist
DATE OF BIRTH March 5, 1877
PLACE OF BIRTH Roskilde
DATE OF DEATH 17th October 1950
Place of death Frederiksberg