Gustaf Svanberg the Younger

1839-1909.

Lawyer, politician.

Gustaf Svanberg was born in Uppsala in 1819, the son of Gustaf (the astronomer) and Fredrika Svanberg. Later in life he became mayor and active in municipal politics in Gothenburg. Svanberg was also elected as a member of the second chamber of the Riksdag.

The tombstone that adorns the Svanberg Burial site is one of the most eye-catching in the Old Cemetery. The allegorical female figure in bronze is called "Sorrow" and was made by sculptress Sigrid Blomberg. A similar sculpture adorns Carl Wijk's family grave at Östra Cemetery in Gothenburg.

 

Burial site: 0109-0461B

Image description: Portrait of Gustaf Svanberg, 1910 Photo: Unknown photographer / Wikimedia Commons. [The image is cropped]
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Eva Andén

1886-1970.

Lawyer.

After graduating from high school, Eva Andén began studying law at Uppsala University and graduated in 1912.

After graduating from law school, she traveled around the country lecturing on marriage, child welfare and poor relief laws. Andén also led courses in legal knowledge for rural women, organized by the National Association for Women's Political Suffrage (LKPR).

In 1915, Andén took over a law firm for female clients, Kvinnliga juristbyrån, and three years later she became the first woman to become a member of the Swedish Bar Association.

Andén specialized in family law and mainly assisted clients in connection with divorces, inheritance, alimony, custody issues and division of property in divorces. His clients included Selma Lagerlöf and Astrid Lindgren.

Eva Andén was also a member of a committee that served as the Swedish Bar Association's referral body for family law legislation, where she occasionally had great influence.

From 1950 to 1962 she was also President of the Society of Nine. Andén practiced law until her death in 1970.

 

Burial site: 0106-0343

Image description: Eva Andén, year unknown. Photo: Atelier Hedström, Uppsala / KvinnSam, Gothenburg University Library. [The image is cropped]
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Elsa Eschelsson

1861-1911.

Lawyer, Sweden's first female doctor of law.

Elsa Eschelsson was born in a wealthy home in Norrköping in 1861. After the death of her mother, five-year-old Elsa moved with her father to Stockholm.

Eschelsson was taught at home and learned Latin, among other things, entirely on her own. In 1882 she took her matriculation exam with high marks.

She continued her studies in Uppsala and later became the first female doctor and associate professor of law. However, she had to fight hard to obtain positions, not least as acting professor, as that position could not yet be granted to a woman.

She was involved in the establishment of the Association of Educated Women (1904), which campaigned for women's right to hold senior government posts.

The academic struggles took a toll on her strength and after a supposed overdose of sleeping pills, Elsa Eschelsson died on March 10, 1911.

The funeral in Uppsala Cathedral was officiated by Professor Einar Billing who spoke about "the injustice of this world".

 

Burial site: 0137-1550

Image description: Elsa Eschelsson, 1883. Photo: Heinrich Osti / UUBThe image is cropped]
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