Ellen Anckarsvärd facts for kids

Ellen Anckarsvärd (born December 10, 1833, died December 8, 1898) was a Swedish activist who worked for women's rights. She helped start many important groups that supported women.

Ellen was a co-founder and secretary of the Married Woman's Property Rights Association (1873). This was the first women's rights group in Sweden. She also helped start the Friends of Handicraft (1874) and the Fredrika Bremer Association (1884). Later, she became the vice chairperson of the Fredrika Bremer Association (1896–1898). She was also the chairperson of the National Council of Swedish Women (1896–1898) and the Läsesalongen (Reading Parlor) during the same years.

Early Life and Family

Ellen Anckarsvärd was the daughter of the architect Per Axel Nyström. In 1862, she married another architect, Theodor Anckarsvärd. She had a son named Cossva Anckarsvärd, who later became a diplomat. She also helped raise the artist Louis Sparre.

Leading the Women's Movement

Ellen Anckarsvärd became a very important person in Sweden's first organized women's rights movement. In 1873, she and Anna Hierta-Retzius started the Married Woman's Property Rights Association. This group worked to give married women more control over their own money and property. Ellen was the secretary for many years. Anna Hierta-Retzius said that Ellen was the main leader of the group because she was so smart and effective.

In 1874, Ellen helped create the Friends of Handicrafts. This organization supported traditional crafts. She worked on its financial board and later became its vice chairperson. From 1874 to 1896, she was also on the board of a literary group called Läsesalongen (Reading Parlor). She became its chairperson in 1896.

Fredrika Bremer Association

In 1884, Ellen was one of the people who founded the Fredrika Bremer Association. This was the most important women's rights group in Sweden during the 1800s.

Ellen Key, another famous activist, said that Ellen Anckarsvärd was a great organizer. She could solve any legal or practical problem. Ellen often gave legal advice to the Fredrika Bremer Association. People saw her as the person who continued the work of Sophie Adlersparre in the women's movement. Ellen and Sophie were very close friends. People used to say: "It is Mrs Adlersparre who gives birth to ideas, but it is Mrs Anckarsvärd who raises them!" This meant that Sophie came up with the ideas, but Ellen made them happen.

National Council of Swedish Women

From 1896 to 1898, Ellen Anckarsvärd was the chairperson of the National Council of Swedish Women. This group later joined the International Council of Women in 1898. In 1897, she hosted the Congress of Nordic Women, a big meeting organized by the group.

Ellen also served on other important committees. She was the chairperson of the Women's Committee for the Chicago Exhibition. She was also a member of the Klara Parish charitable society, the Deaconesses institution, and the board of Idun magazine.

Her Character

Ellen Key described Ellen Anckarsvärd as a quiet and humble person. She was small and looked delicate, but she had amazing intelligence and strong will. She was very good at focusing on tasks. Ellen was a central figure in all the organizations she joined because she was so efficient and organized.

In a tribute article in Idun magazine, Ellen Key wrote about her: "Very blonde, pale and fragile, a tiny delicate creature, not only weak, but also sickly—such was the surface of the woman, within whose frail body lived the most masculine talent I have ever met in a woman. I have never seen any woman focus so completely on a question without being worn out by it. A friend once truly said that Ellen Anckarsvärd understood and responded better to these topics while asleep than the rest of us did while awake! When you add that this frail person, whom you barely dared touch when shaking hands, had a strength that could carry many tasks with a smile when others would have given up—then you will understand how superior Ellen Anckarsvärd became in the areas where she was active."

See also

In Spanish: Ellen Anckarsvärd para niños