Sweden is the most important Scandinavian country. It is located in Europe and it is known for its vast fields and sky-scraping mountains. Its capital is the city of Stockholm. It has vast agricultural lands and place but it was not always like this. Things were a little complicated back in the 18th century. Sweden faced a lot of famines and droughts. This is where the most sought after agronomist of Sweden comes in. Her name was Eva Ekeblad and she was born in Stockholm, Sweden in the early 18th century. She became very famous for her works in alcohol production from potato starch. She also created flour and perfume from potato starch. This production of floor and other edible goods highly affected the famine and suppressed it greatly. Her discovery made her very popular in 1764.
Introduction to the best Agronomist
This short biography is intended to let people know about the contributions made by people. The people who were born before them. Eva Ekeblad was also one of them. She was just cultivating potatoes and she found some interesting things about these vegetables. Eva Ekeblad found out that the starch in them can be very useful to create food. She then set to create flour, potatoes, and some fragrances.
Eva Ekeblad was born to Magnus Julius and he was a known statesman count in Stockholm. Eva Ekeblad was a very bright kid from the start. She got married when she was just 16 years old and she becomes a mother of 7 kids. She was blessed with six daughters and one son.
Eva Ekeblad was literally born into nobility and kingship. She also looked after the states of her husband. Her husband went on different business trips and then she looked after all the in house business. She also took a lot of interest in it and she was an independent woman. She was an example for the local woman. The woman in those days was looked down upon and she was a pioneer of excellence. She attended royal meetings and took great interest in politics and science.
Eva Ekeblad’s life as a Scientist
Everyone knows that potatoes are known for their high-end quality and starch richness. They contain starch so it’s a no brainer that they are suitable for fermentation of alcohol. It is very easy to ferment alcohol from potatoes these days but it was very difficult back at that time. People did not know much about science and stuff. She was so intelligent that she found a way to ferment alcohol from potatoes. Eva Ekeblad did that when she was just 22 years old. She got a lot of popularity for this work. Everyone was shocked and surprised. She then used that alcohol in perfumes which produced mesmerizing fragrances. Moreover, she also created flour from the potatoes which later on helped reduced the famine. The famine took many lives and after the creation of flour from potatoes, a lot of burden was lifted off.
This didn’t stop her from experimenting again and again. She used a lot of other products and chemicals in her experiments. This experimenting helped her create rue, wheat, barley and a lot more. With this experimenting, potatoes became the main diet for most of the Swedish people. She also helped in creating so many other horrible incidents of famines all over the world. This helped her create loaves of bread which helped millions of people to fill their appetites and survive the famine peacefully. She was also very curious about making soap from vegetables. It was the urge that enabled her to make soap out of potatoes. This proved very helpful for people to wash their clothes and garments.
Some Very Interesting facts about Eva Ekeblad
- Before the scientific advancements, Eva Ekeblad was the pioneer in the field of sciences and biology. She was the first woman to invent a scientific method in Sweden.
- All of the people acknowledged her scientific efforts and they elected her as the head of the academy of sciences in 1748. At that time, no woman was that literate.
- She belonged to a very rich family and her husband was also a very rich person. He also owned estates out of the capital. People still have no idea what made her ferment the alcohol and different other products from potatoes. After that people started taking agricultural products very seriously and made different products out of them.
- Before the Swedish scientists explored the advantages of the potatoes. Swedish people though that vegetables are just animal feed and cannot be eaten like a proper diet. Eva Ekeblad totally changed this misconception about vegetables.
- Everyone in the sciences field knows about Eva Ekeblad and she is the ideal example for women all over the world.
- Google Doodle was customized in accordance with the 293rd birthday of Eva Ekeblad.
- Swedish academy accepted the scientist as an honorary member but not as full-time membership holder. It was only available for men. She also had many friendly relationships with Queens and lords of Sweden.
What can we learn from her?
She has taught us that being curious is the best way to attain knowledge and wisdom. We can learn a lot from her life. She was also a single mother of 7 children after her husband died. She never lost hope and she kept on experiencing new things every day. We can learn how she never gave up on her dreams even though she lived in a patriarchal society. She taught us how to be persistent and consistent while chasing our dreams. Her main concern was the poor people who did not have any access to quality food. The famine, hunger, and the atrocities of food shortage made her left her cozy home and help the needy. She taught us hard work and courage. It was very difficult for a woman to achieve something big at that time. There were no opportunities for them. A big lesson for today’s women.