The international influence of the Stockholm School

Erik Stensiö revolutionized vertebrate palaeontology by introducing new methods to study the anatomy of fossil agnathans and fish. As head of the department of palaeozoology at the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet in Stockholm, he formed the so‐called ‘Stockholm School’ with his students and foreign researchers. Twice many foreign researchers worked together in the department; in the 1930s the group was composed of European nationals, whereas the group in the 1960s comprised researchers from China, Europe and North America. These people have carried on the ‘message’ in their countries. In contrast, palaeoichthyology faded out at the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, because Stensiö and his followers persisted with the definitions attained without accepting new ideas from outside. The ‘Stockholm School’ therefore had its continuation outside Sweden, and it has only recently returned to Sweden, from England.