Erik Benzelius the younger

Who was Erik Benzelius the younger?

Erik Benzelius the younger was a priest, theologian, librarian, and Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden, 1742–1743. He was a highly learned man and one of Sweden's important Enlightenment figures.

As his name indicates, he was the son of Erik Benzelius the elder. The elder Erik also held the office of archbishop, he was a most learned man who had studied in universities around Europe and he was also a professor of theology at the University of Uppsala.

Like his father, the young Erik first studied at Uppsala and then undertook a journey through Europe. This was not uncommon for ambitious and somewhat wealthy people during the era. The academic world had grown in importance as had the sciences, and many notable people were found at the universities in Europe. Erik met among others Leibniz and Malebranche. He also spent a great deal of time studying books and scripts from large, old libraries. He bought or copied several of them.

Returning to Uppsala in 1702, he was appointed librarian at the University of Uppsala. He was fond of books and worked to expand the library's collection. Then he studied to be a priest and was ordained in 1709.