Gustaf von Düben

Düben served as the inspector of the Karolinska Institute from 1860 to 1871, while also holding a professorship in anatomy and physiology.^[1]

In 1868, Gustaf von Düben, began to compile a catalogue of Sámi skulls. It was illustrated with photographs taken by his spouse, Lotten von Bahr,^[2] who was a pioneering documentary photographer.^[3]

Gustaf von Düben is primarily remembered for his major work on the Sámi people, Om Lappland och lapparne, företrädesvis de svenske, which was published in 1873. His interest in the Sámi people was sparked when, as a professor at the Karolinska Institute, he came into contact with the large collection of Sámi skulls kept in the institute's anatomical museum.

Gustaf von Düben was the last member of the now-dissolved branch of the Düben family, which descended from Gustaf Düben (1659–1726) (No. 135). This is a different noble branch from the one that still survives (No. 139), which is also officially introduced (or registered/listed) at the House of Nobility in Stockholm.^[4][5]

Düben's wife, Lotten, was the daughter of Robert von Bahr and Eva Carolina Åkerhielm af Margretelund.