Olof Tempelman
Olof Samuel Tempelman (February 21, 1745 in Källstad, Östergötland – July 27, 1816 in Stockholm) was a Swedish architect and, from 1779, professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. He was appointed royal architect in 1799.
Olof Tempelman
Early life[edit]
He was the son of Samuel Tempelman (1711-1748), curate of Herrestad, and his wife Susanna Maria Ridderström (1718-1753). According to tradition, the name was derived from the Templars. The family had immigrated from Dorpat in Estonia, and had for generations lived in Östergötland. Susanna was the daughter of a captain and grew up in Östergötland. When Tempelman was three years old, his father died. He was cared for by his father's older brother, Peter Tempelman, who served as priest in the Östra Stenby congregation. His uncle was a man of scientific interest, who collected books and had contact with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Tempelman had a happy childhood and showed an early interest in design. His received his early education at home and continued studying, along with his cousin, at the high school in Linköping.
At Uppsala University in 1763, he began studying theology and the humanities while working as a tutor for income. But he eventually immersed himself in science, following in the likes of Carl Linnaeus, Anders Celsius, and Samuel Klingenstierna. Tempelman wrote a thesis in astronomy under Daniel Melanderhjelm before starting on a master's thesis in physics, De frictione corporum super plano horizontale motorum.
Personal life[edit]
Through his connections with Adelcrantz, Tempelman met Britta Elisabet Gyllenstam, daughter of Colonel Jonas Zacharias Gyllenstam and Catharina Elisabeth von Numers. They married in 1782. In the following year, they had a daughter, Mary Catherine, who died as an infant; his wife died a year later. Tempelman secondly married Dorothea Catherina Pagenkopff, the daughter of the German shoemaker Michael C. Pagenkopff, in 1804. They had five children, two boys who died early, and three girls. Tempelman died on 27 July 1816, and was buried in Stockholm, leaving behind his wife and three daughters.