Lars Fredrik Nilson (27 May 1840 – 14 May 1899) was a Swedish chemist, professor at Uppsala University, and later Director of the Agricultural Chemical Experiment Station at the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry in Stockholm. He discovered the element scandium in 1879, by separating out scandium(III) oxide, also known as scandia. In addition to his work concerning the analytic chemistry of elements and rare earths, he made substantial contributions to Swedish agriculture, including methods of fertilization and the introduction of sugar beets as a crop. Education Nilson was born in Skönberga parish in Östergötland, Sweden. Later his family relocated to the island of Gotland, where his father, Nikolaus, owned the farm Rosendal in Follingbo. During later life, Lars Fredrik Nilson retained a small holding on Gotland, which he visited yearly. After graduating from Wisby high school on Gotland, Lars Fredrik Nilson enrolled at Uppsala University in 1859. There he studied the natural sciences including zoology and biology. His work in mineralogy was noted by the chemistry professor at Uppsala, Lars Fredrik Svanberg, a former student of Jöns Jakob Berzelius. To obtain a Doctorate of Philosophy in Sweden, the candidate was expected to pass a series of examinations in all areas of study, including languages, history, and philosophy as well as their main area of study, within a fixed period of time. In 1865, just before Nilson could complete his final examination, his father became severely ill. Nilson returned home to Gotland, where he assumed management of the farm, working in the fields as needed. When his father recovered some months later, the harvest and autumn planting had been completed successfully, and Nilson had installed the first engine threshing machine to be used in Gotland. Nilson's own health had greatly benefited from his work on the farm: the young man who had arrived home in poor health had become much stronger. He was able to return to Uppsala and pass the next season's examinations, becoming a doctor of chemistry in 1866. Career In 1866, Nilson became an associate professor of chemistry at Uppsala, with the responsibilities of chief assistant and demonstrator of chemistry for Svanberg's laboratory. He was a calm and patient teacher, relying more on demonstrations than on lectures. He insisted that after the work of the day was completed, it was to be left behind, and not discussed during leisure. His earliest papers mainly concerned sulfides,