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Anders Celsius (November 27, 1701 – April 25, 1744) was a Swedish astronomer who is best known for his pursuit to develop a standardized temperature scale. He determined that the melting point and boiling point of water are constant regardless of latitude, and the boiling point of water is dependant on elevation.

In 1742 he proposed a temperature scale which now bears his name, the Celsius scale, which is used worldwide for meteorological observations around the world. In his scale, the boiling point of water was 0 degrees and the freezing point was 100, while the modern Celsius scale is the reverse of this. In addition to his temperature work, he was an avid observer of the aurora borealis and participated in an expedition to measure an arc of the meridian in northern Sweden.

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