Björn Kurtén

Björn Kurtén (19 November 1924 – 28 December 1988) was a Finland-Swedish vertebrate paleontologist and science fiction writer.

Early life and education Kurtén was born in Vaasa in 1924 to Lennart Joachim Kurten and Hjördis Rose Ståhlberg.

He took courses in the University of Helsinki studying zoology, chemistry, geology, and paleontology. He went on to study the Hipparion genus in Uppsala, Sweden, publishing his first scientific paper on the genus in 1952 before earning his PhD from the University of Helsinki in 1954.

Scientific career After receiving his PhD, Kurtén became a Docent at the University of Helsinki, a position he held until 1972. From 1972 until his death, he was a Professor at the university. Throughout his career, he frequently traveled to study paleontological collections throughout Europe and North America. He also did field work in Sweden, Spain, and Tunisia. He received several fellowships from foreign institutions and lectured at Harvard University. For his work in popular science, he received numerous awards including the Finnish state award for popular dissemination of knowledge (1970 and 1982), Counsellor of state Mauritz Hallberg's prize (1970) and UNESCO's Kalinga Prize (1988).

Kurtén's research focused primarily on carnivorans, particularly prehistoric bears and hyenas. The prehistoric cat species Prionailurus kurteni was named after Kurtén in 2024.