A native of Stockholm, Per Af Bjerkén (1765-1818) trained in London under John Hunter and Henry Cline and served as a surgeon at St Thomas' and Guy's hospitals before his eventual return to Stockholm. Although his primary focus was general surgery, in which he was regarded as one of the leading Swedish practitioners of the time, Bjerkén also achieved notoriety as an ophthalmologist.
In Sweden in 1878, a commemorative medal by Lea Ahlborn was commissioned by the Swedish Academy of Sciences in struck silver, 31 mm in diameter.