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CSS Colloquium: Bo Poulsen, Aalborg University

Global Marine Science and Carlsberg - The Golden Connections of Johannes Schmidt (1877-1933) 

Info about event

Time

Wednesday 20 September 2017,  at 14:15 - 15:45

Location

1532-318

By accident, the world-famous brewery Carlsberg became a central force in global marine science during the first three decades of the 20th century. Within a core group of scientists and managers, Johannes Schmidt (1877-1933) was the key figure combining the efforts of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the Danish state and several private companies. Launching 26 oceangoing expeditions Schmidt made landmark discoveries such as the breeding ground for the Atlantic eel in the Sargasso Sea. The scientific frontier was pushed literally kilometres into the deep sea and across the World’s oceans. While the formal North Atlantic Empire of the small state of Denmark was in decline, an informal empire of science was erected instead.

In this talk, Associate Professor, Dr. Phil., Bo Poulsen presents his monograph, which is both a history of science biography, an institutional history of important science institutions such as the Carlsberg Foundation and the intra-governmental institution the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, while it also places the history of marine science and science institutions within a context of Danish foreign policy and global self-positioning.

Link to the monograph