Niels Ryberg Finsen (1860-1904)

Awarded the Prize “in recognition of his contribution to the treatment of diseases, especially lupus vulgaris, with concentrated light radiation, whereby he has opened a new avenue for medical science.”

Danish doctor. Finsen was born on December 15, 1860, at Thorshavn in the Faroe Islands. In 1882 he went to Copenhagen to study medicine, taking his final examination in 1890. The same year he also became prosector of anatomy at the University of Copenhagen. Finsen died in Copenhagen on September 24, 1904.