8 Biographical Account of J. G. Gahn. [July, 



College, naturally devolved upon him. An interesting and im- 

 portant one was thus committed to him, which occupied him 

 during a series of investigations, prosecuted in the years 1803, 

 1804; and as the circumstances are interesting, and the result 

 proved highly honourable to Gahn, we shall make no apology 

 for detailing them. 



It happened that the copper sheathing of a vessel, after a 

 long voyage in the Mediterranean, had been corroded to an 

 extraordinary extent by the action of the sea water ; and a 

 strong but wholly unfounded prejudice had from this circum- 

 stance arisen against the employment of Fahlun copper for the 

 sheathing of vessels. Gahn was commissioned to investigate 

 whether there were any grounds for this prejudice, and to sug- 

 gest, if necessary, such alterations as might remove them. In 

 the elaborate memoir which he drew up on this subject, he 

 demonstrated, in the most decisive manner, that the Fahlun 

 copper contained none of the pernicious admixtures, which ren- 

 der that metal subject to corrosion by sea water. And as a 

 singular proof of the truth of his conclusions, it deserves to 

 be mentioned, that it was discovered upon examination, that 

 the copper sheathing of the vessel in question had not been 

 obtained from Fahlun. 



We have now glanced at a few of the benefits conferred by 

 Gahn upon science by his discoveries ; upon scientific men by 

 his inventions to facilitate their researches ; and upon his coun- 

 try by his improvements in those arts which constitute so great 

 a portion of her wealth. But we should still underrate the 

 character of the man were we to omit mentioning that he was 

 besides a zealous guardian of the rights of his countrymen, in the 

 representative body of which he was repeatedly a member, and 

 that in private life he was not more agreeable to his friends by 

 his urbanity and frankness, than useful to all by his enlightened 

 humanity. In proof of the latter characteristic we may mention, 

 that the first charitable institution for the maintenance of the 

 poor at Fahlun was indebted entirely to his exertions for its 

 establishment. 



The privileges entrusted to his more peculiar and local care 

 were of no ordinary kind. Being a member of the Mining 

 Directory of Fahlun, he was by them returned to the represent- 

 ative body of Burghers in the Diets of 1778, 1809, and 1810; 

 and in the momentous discussions which took place in these two 

 latter years particularly, he was always an active member of the 

 Constitutional Committee (Constitutionolltokott). When it is 

 recollected that Dalecarlia in particular, and the whole mining 

 districts of Sweden in general, remained, throughout a long suc- 

 cession of ages, in the unchanged possession of their ancient 

 privileges and local constitutions, notwithstanding the many 

 surprising revolutions which have characterised the Swedish 



