Olof Eneroth

1825-1881.

Author, pomologist.

Olof Eneroth is considered a pioneer in Swedish horticulture and has been called "the father of Swedish pomology".

In his horticulture, Eneroth devoted himself to the study of different apple varieties. As director of the Swedish Horticultural Society's school and its gardens between 1858-1863, he worked for the development of the art of gardening and for the introduction of gardening as a subject at folk schools, seminaries and agricultural schools.

In 1864-1866 Eneroth published Handbok i svensk pomologi.

He also advocated good public education in a general public school, and in his work Om folkskolan i Sverige (1863-1869) he developed his ideas further.

Eneroth bequeathed a substantial sum of money to Stockholm University for the establishment of a professorship in pedagogy.

 

Burial site: 0115-0818

Image description: Olof Eneroth, woodcut. Photo: Swedish Biographical Dictionary / National ArchivesThe image is cropped]
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Pontus Wikner

1837-1888.

Philosopher, author.

Pontus Wikner was born in a poor crofter's home in Valbo-Ryrs parish in Dalsland.

He came to Uppsala in 1856, where he was permanently influenced by neo-evangelicalism and by Rydberg and Geijer.

As a disciple of the philosopher Christopher Jacob Boström, Wikner initially developed Boström's ideas, and later subjected them to criticism in terms of philosophy of religion and epistemology. Against Boström's philosophy, which was based on God as the absolute reason, Wikner placed an image of God characterized by holy will and saw religion as an I-Thou relationship.

Between 1863-1884 Wikner was associate professor of theoretical philosophy in Uppsala and became a lecturer in theology and Hebrew at the Högre allmänna läroverket in Uppsala in 1873, and professor of philosophy and aesthetics in Kristiania (Oslo) in 1884.

In his most widely read work, Tankar och frågor inför Människones Son (1872; Thoughts and Questions for the Son of Man ), Wikner took a personal stand in the Christological battles of his day. He wanted to combine a biblically inspired revivalist piety with a culturally open humanism, and he was supported in Christian circles, especially in the Young Church and the Association for Christian Humanism.

When Pontus Wikner died in Oslo after a life marked by illness and personal crises, his remains were brought to Uppsala by the Student Union. A large number of students followed the remains to the grave.

More than 80 years (1971) after Wikner's death, his notes were published, in which he describes his homosexual orientation and the suffering it caused him.

Wikner also became an inspiration at the time when the modern gay movement emerged in Sweden in the 1970s; a movement that developed and today can be called the LGBTI movement.

 

Burial site: 0121-1085

Image description: Pontus Wikner, ca 1850-1888 Photo: Unknown photographer / UUBThe image is cropped]
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Greta Gahn

1894-1996.

Textile artist.

After studying at the Higher School of Industrial Arts and the Scuola di tessitura in Milan, Greta Gahn was the director and artistic director of Handarbetets Vänner between 1931 and 1951.

During the war years and the time after, it was mainly Gahn in collaboration with Alf Munthe who was responsible for the monumental textile art in churches and public buildings.

She was also a co-owner with Munthe of Lekattgården, a workshop for weaving and embroidery. Greta Gahn's artistic judgment and technical expertise were crucial to Munthe's textile works.

 

Burial site: 0118-0928

Image description: Greta Gahn, unknown year. Photo: Margit Karlson / Leksand local history archive. Leksands-kulturhusThe image is cropped]
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May Bring

1880-1971.

Artist.

Maj Bring grew up in Uppsala on Sysslomansgatan 8 and later on Skolgatan. She studied at Vilhelmsson's painting school in Gothenburg and at the Academy of Fine Arts and for Henri Matisse in Paris 1908-1910.

Bring herself ran an art school in Söder in Stockholm and was chairman of the Association of Swedish Women Artists between 1949 and 1951. Bring painted landscapes in a modernist style and later worked with collage and sequined paintings.

Her autobiography Motsols (1986) has been reissued with a large number of images from her oeuvre. The book describes Maj Brings' artistic life and her encounters with her contemporaries and her time in Paris. The new edition has been published by Maj Brings Fonds

Works of art by Maj Bring are represented at Moderna Museet, Nationalmuseum, Sahlströmsgården in Torsby, Aguelimuseet in Sala, Per Ekström museum in Mörbylånga and Borås museum.

In 2008, several artists were honored by having streets and parks in Stockholm named after them. In Sköndal, Maj Bring is represented.

 

Burial site: 0129-2149

Image description: Maj Bring, 1904. Photo: Taken from the book Maj Bring - Motsols. Memoirs and Art. 2007The image is cropped].
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Lasse Eriksson

1949-2011.

Artist, author.

Lars "Lasse" Eriksson was born in Piteå, and moved to Uppsala at a young age.

He started his theater career in the 1970s when he played with Panikteatern in Uppsala.

Eriksson became known to TV audiences in the early 1980s with her observations and as a presenter of various entertainment programs.

Eriksson was also known as a stand-up comedian and published several books. In addition to his participation in a number of anthologies, he published humorous books, such as De norrbottniska satansverserna (2006) and I huvudet på en orolig komiker (2011).

Lasse Eriksson died on stage during a performance at Reginateatern in Uppsala.

 

Burial site: 0157-0275

Image description: Lasse Eriksson, year unknown. Photo: Anders Tukler. [The image is cropped]
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Elin Eriksson

1868-1950.

Shopkeepers, market vendors.

Elin Eriksson and her husband Josef Theodor Eriksson started Stabbylund's haulage and slaughterhouse at Jumkilsgatan in Uppsala.

In Saluhallen they had sales as well as on St. Erik's square where, among other things, horse meat was sold.

For thirty-five years, in heat and cold, she stood in the square. Her boots are preserved in Upplandsmuseet.

 

Burial site: 0142-1656

Image description: Elin Eriksson probably 1940s. Photo: From private collectionThe image is cropped].
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Fadime Sahindal

1975-2002.

Front figure against honorary oppression.

Fadime Sahindal, who was of Turkish-Kurdish origin, came to Sweden with her family in the early 1980s. As a student, she studied social work in Sundsvall and Östersund.

In her 20s, she started a relationship, which was not accepted by relatives. After harassment and threats from male relatives, Sahindal filed a police report and contacted the media. It was in this context that she became known to the public.

She became a symbol for other immigrant women in similar situations. At a seminar on integration issues in Parliament in 2001, she criticized the cultural patterns of certain immigrant groups and also the inability of society to support women in similar situations.

During a visit to the home on January 21, 2002, Fadime Sahindal was murdered. The father was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.

Representatives of Kurdish organizations and other immigrant groups in Sweden strongly condemned the murder of Fadime Sahindal.

Since then, several organizations, networks and funds have been set up to support vulnerable migrant women and the subsequent debate focused on honour killings and lack of support for migrant women.

Among the large number of people attending the funeral service in Uppsala Cathedral on February 5, 2002 were representatives of the government and the royal family.

 

Burial site: 0313-0861

Image description: Fadime Sahindal, 1998. Photo: Eva Tedesjö / IBLThe image is cropped]
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Otto von Friesen

1870-1942.

Linguist, runologist.

Otto von Friesen was born in Kulltorps parish, Jönköping county, and his most important scientific works deal with runic writing.

In 1897 von Friesen became an associate professor of Nordic languages at Uppsala University.

He published Om runskrifts härkomst (1906) and Rökstenen (1920), in which he claimed that the enigmatic stone is about a conflict between Ostrogoths and Frisian merchants.

During the years 1905-1936, von Friesen was a professor of Swedish language, became a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1928 and was elected to the Swedish Academy in 1929.

 

Burial site: 0106-0332

Image description: Otto von Friesen, Uppsala 1940s. Photo: Gunnar Sundgren / UUBThe image is cropped]
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Ingrid Årfelt

1923-1999.

Artist, graphic designer.

After studying at Edwin Oller's painting school and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Ingrid Årfelt joined the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1941.

At the Academy of Fine Arts, she participated in the teaching of graphics and in the sculpture department from 1946-1948.

In 1956, Årfelt received a scholarship from the Italian government and spent a period in Rome at the Accademia degli stanieri.

Årfelt has worked with portraits, figure compositions and landscapes. Her works are executed in woodcut, drypoint, aquatint, linocut and pastel. In 1962, Årfelt published a pictorial version of the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, a work that attracted great attention.

Since 2008, Upplandsmuseet has had a forged artwork by Ingrid Årfelt from 1963, inspired by the folk life around the old restaurant "Rullan" in Uppsala. The artwork depicts and romanticizes an era that was obliterated by demolition and new construction.

Ingrid Årfelt is represented at several museums, including the National Museum and the Stockholm City Museum.

 

Burial site: 0157-0262

Image description: Ingrid Årfelt in her studio with one of her "shell-shaped" sculptures. Photo: From private collectionThe image is cropped]
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Karin Westman Berg

1914-1997.

Literary scholars.

After graduating with a master's degree in philosophy, Karin Westman Berg worked as a school teacher in Luleå and Härnösand between 1943 and 1957.

She received her doctorate in Uppsala in 1962 with Studier i C.J.L. Almqvist kvinnouppfattning (Studies in C.J.L. Almqvist's Conception of Women ) and edited several anthologies, such as Textanalys från könsrollssynpunkt (1976) and Gråt inte - forska (1979).

Westman Berg was a leading figure in Swedish feminist literary research and was a member of the board of the Fredrika Bremer Association between 1945 and 1977.

Westman Berg initiated and led gender role seminars at the Course Activities from 1967 to 1977. At that time, women's research seminars were started, which Westman Berg led until 1979. The seminars became an inspiring meeting place for people interested in women's issues and women's research.

A research position in women's and gender role issues gave her the opportunity to start the Women's Literature Project at the Department of Literature in Uppsala in 1978. At that time, women's literature referred to fiction written by Swedish women writers.

On her retirement in 1982, Karin Westman Berg was awarded the title of Professor.

 

Burial site: 0319-1349

Image description: Karin Westman Berg, year unknown. Photo: Inger Harnesk / Center for Gender Studies, Uppsala UniversityThe image is cropped]
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