Niels Finsen Monument - Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
0071 Niels Finsen Rock
Ladabrekka Pathway
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
GPS: 62.009868, -6.769455
Just a few meters from the harbour, and hidden behind some buildings in Tórshavn, is a mystical-looking group of rocks guarded by stone pillars and an iron fence.
Upon first glance, this heavily guarded site looks like it could be an ancient Celtic burial site, or a sacred shrine.
But the real story here is actually much more interesting, and tells of how one child’s graffiti in the 1800’s, became a national monument.
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On December 15th, 1860 a boy by the name Niels Ryberg Finsen was born in Tórshavn.
He lived in the capital of the Faroe Islands for the first 14 years of his life.
While a young student in 1883, Niels noticed symptoms of chronic heart and liver ailments, which constantly made him feel cold.
This led to his eventual devotion to the study of medicine at Copenhagen University.
At school, Niels’ room faced north, so it never had the warmth of direct sunlight.
Then, Neils made a seemingly trivial observation of a cat sunning itself on a flat roof below his window.
As the sun moved through the sky, changing the direction of its light beams, the cat moved so that it would stay within the light of the sun.
As someone that was always cold, Neils was a bit jealous of this cat, and he began to take walks in the sunshine.
It was then that he first noticed the beneficial effects of being in the sun, that went beyond just warmth.
Finsen, for the first time in recorded history, began to develop fruitful research into the effect of light on certain skin diseases.
Lupus vulgaris (also known as tuberculosis luposa) is a painful, tuberculosis skin lesion most often on the face around the nose, eyelids, lips, cheeks, ears and neck.
Lupus vulgaris had previously been therapy-resistant, but light treatment provided a beneficial, bactericidal effect.
The treatments were massively successful, and patients came flocking.
On 12 August 1896, the modest Finsen's Medical Light Institute was opened in Copenhagen and welcomed its first two patients.
By 1901, just five years later, it had treated 804 patients whom had traveled to Copenhagen from all across Europe for treatment, and claimed an impressive cure rate of 83 percent.
When the Nobel Prize for Medicine was to be awarded in 1903 the judges had approximately 30 candidates on which to decide.
And on October 15th, 1903 Niels Ryberg Finsen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research into treatment with ultraviolet light.
Though the 1903 Nobel Prizes ceremonially was hosted by Swedish Royal Family, prize-winners M. and Mme Curie and Finsen were unable to attend.
Niels Finsen, winner of the 1903 Medicine Prize, did not hold any Nobel lectures.
His health steadily deteriorated and on September 23rd, 1904, just one year after winning the Nobel Prize, his long suffering came to an end.
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One hundred years later, and NASA is studying light’s effects in promoting wound healing in astronauts by helping cells and tissues grow.
Dermatologists commonly use light therapy to treat a range of skin issues.
One century after his discovery, Niels Ryberg Finsen’s light therapy is helping millions of people in ways he could never have imagined.
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Sometime during the first 14 years of his life, Niels R. Finsen carved his initials “NRF”, in stone, on this spot, which you can see just inside the sturdy iron fence.
You will see several patterns within the gate design referencing the life of Niels Finsen.
The year of his birth: 1860
The year of his death: 1904
The initials that he carved into the rock: NRF
And a design with the rays of sunshine, paying respect to Niels Finsen’s contribution to mankind, the use of light for medicinal purposes.
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The moral of this story may also be, if you want your petty vandalism and graffiti to be declared a national monument, you better also plan on winning the Nobel Prize.
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Please watch: "Snow White Premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre - December 21, 1937"
• Snow White Premiere at the Carthay Circle ...
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