The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Aurivillius, Karl

AURIVILLIUS, Karl, a Swedish orientalist, born at Stockholm in 1717, died in 1786. He mastered the Syriac, Arabic, Sanskrit, and other oriental languages. After 1754 he resided at Upsal, at first giving private instruction in the poetry of different nations, and in 1772 was appointed professor of oriental languages in the university. He succeeded Linnæus as member of the academy of sciences in Upsal, and was an active member of the commission for preparing a new translation of the Bible into Swedish.