Home > Ole Worm

Worm was the son of Willum Worm who served as the mayor of Aarhus, and was made a rich man by the inheritance from his father. Ole Worm's grandfather Johan Worm, a magistrate in Aarhus, was a Lutheran who had fled from Arnhem in Gelderland while it was under Catholic rule.

Ole Worm was something of a perpetual student: after attending the grammar school of Aarhus, he continued his education at the University of Marburg in 1605Events April 13 Tsar Boris Godunow dies Feodor II accedes to the throne May 16 Paul V becomes Pope June 1 Russian troops in Moscow imprison Feodor II and his mother. They are later executed June 20 Pretender Dmitri and his supporters march to Moscow July, received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of BaselThe University of Basel (German: Universitat Basel is located at Basel, Switzerland. Organisation Faculties Theology Jura Medicine Phil I Phil II Economy Psychology Ressorts Research Teaching Students Equal chances for both genders Center for Scientific C in 1611Events November 1 At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeare's romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time. mo Gustavus Adolphus becomes king of Sweden Denmark attacks Sweden King James Version of the Bible first published in Engla, and received a Master of Arts degree from the University of CopenhagenThe University of Copenhagen (Kobenhavns Universtitet) is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. It has almost 33,000 students, a majority of which are female, and more than 6,000 employees. It should not be confused with t in 1617Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I ( 1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617- 1623). Francesco Andreini's The Penitent Magdalene is published. February 27 Peace is reached between Russia and Sweden with the Treaty of Stolbova, ending the In. The rest of his academic career was spent in Copenhagen, where he taught LatinAlternative meanings: See Latin (disambiguation Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and ma, GreekThe Greek language ( /Elini'k{/) is an Indo-European language which has existed from around the 14th century BC in the Cretan inscriptions called Linear B. Mycenaean Greek of this period is distinguished from later Classical or Ancient Greek of the 8th ce, physicsPhysics (from the Greek, physikos , "natural", and physis , "Nature") is the science of Nature in the broadest sense. Physicists study the behavior and properties of matter in a wide variety of contexts, ranging from the sub-microscopic particles from whi, and medicine. He was personal physician to King Christian V of Denmark. Somewhat remarkable for a physician of the time, he remained in the city of Copenhagen to minister to the sick during an epidemic of the Black Death.

In medicine, Worm's chief contributions were in embryology. The Wormian bone s (small bones that fill gaps in the cranial sutures) are named after him.

Worm is also known as a collector of early literature in the Scandinavian languages. He also wrote a number of treatises on runestones and collected texts that were written in the runic alphabet. Worm received letters of introduction to the bishops of Denmark and Norway from the King of Denmark due to the King's interest and approval. In 1626 Worm published his Fasti Danici, or "Danish Chronology," containing the results of his researches into runic lore; and in 1636 he followed this up with Runir seu Danica literatura antiquissima, "Runes: the oldest Danish literature," a compilation of transcribed runic texts. "Musei Wormiani Historia," the frontispiece from the Museum Wormianum depicting Wormius' cabinet of curiosities. As a natural philosopher, Worm assembled a great collection of curiosities, which ranged from native artifacts collected from the New World, to taxidermed animals, to fossils, on which he speculated greatly. Worm compiled engravings of his collection, along with his speculations about their meaning, into a catalog of his Museum Wormianum, published after his death, in 1655. As a scientist, Worm straddled the line between modern and pre-modern. As an example, in a very modern, empirical mode, Worm determined that the unicorn did not exist and that purported unicorn horns were really simply from the narwhal. At the same time, however, he then wondered if the anti-poison properties associated with a unicorn's horn still held true, and undertook primitive experiments in poisoning pets and then serving them ground up narwhal horn (his poisoning must have been relatively mild because he reported that they did recover). His other empirical investigations included providing convincing evidence that lemmings were rodents and not, as some thought, spontaneously generated by the air, and also by providing the first detailed drawing of a bird of paradise proving that they did, despite much popular speculation to the opposite, indeed have feet like regular birds. Worm's primary use of his natural history collection was for the purpose of pedagogy.

In more recent years, the real Worm (and his various accomplishments) have been supplanted to many by a fictional character with his name. H. P. Lovecraft created the character as a translator from Arabic into Latin of his notorious fictional grimoire, the Necronomicon. Lovecraft also writes him as a Dominican priest, and misplaces him in the thirteenth century.