Anna Margareta "Ann-Margret" Holmgren, (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Tersmeden The Tersmeden family, originally ''tor Smede'', is a noble Swedish family originally from Stade that rose to prominence in the 15th-century with Thomas tor Smede, founder of one of the most prominent trading companies in northern Germany. The fami ...

; 17February 185012October 1940), was a Swedish author,

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

Life

She was born at Hässle Manor in

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...

, Sweden. She was the daughter of Baroness Augusta Jacquette Cederström (1818–1860) and the conservative politician and courtier, nobleman Jacob Nils Tersmeden (1795–1867), thus great-granddaughter of Jacob Tersmeden and Lona Lisa Söderhielm. In 1869, she married

Frithiof Holmgren Alarik Frithiof Holmgren (October 22, 1831 – August 14, 1897) was a Swedish physician, physiologist and professor at Upsala University, most noted for his research of color blindness. He was a vocal opponent of vivisection, and particularly th ...

(1831–1897), medical doctor and professor at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

. Their residence, Villa Åsen in the district of Kåbo in Uppsala, was the site of discussion forums for intellectual students and a centre for radical and modern ideas. Among the modern ideas in these radical circles were the introduction of a republic, democracy, suffrage, workers' rights, contraception and atheism. This is thought to have given Holmgren radical sympathies, and she participated in the radical paper ''Verdandi'' from 1898–1905. After the death of her husband in 1897, she moved to Stockholm where was inspired by her friends

Ellen Key Ellen Karolina Sofia Key (; 11 December 1849 – 25 April 1926) was a Swedish difference feminist writer on many subjects in the fields of family life, ethics and education and was an important figure in the Modern Breakthrough movement. She was ...

and

Lydia Wahlström ''Lydia'' Katarina Wahlström (28 June 1869 – 2 June 1954) was a Swedish historian, author and feminist. She was one of the founders of the National Association for Women's Suffrage and its chairman in 1909–1911. Life and career Wahlst ...

to engage in

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

. As a feminist, Holmgren caused considerable controversy by her support for love and sex outside of marriage, in conflict with the contemporary sexual

double standard A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...

. Personally, she did not support the official position of the suffrage movement that women should be given the right to vote on "equal terms as men", because that would in fact mean that only women of legal majority would be able to vote; this would exclude married women, who were under the guardianship of their spouses, and Holmgren therefore also demanded the right for married women to vote, which meant that she demanded the right for married women to be declared adults. In 1902, two motions regarding women suffrage reform were presented to the

Swedish Parliament The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and s ...

. One was from the Minister of Justice

Hjalmar Hammarskjöld Knut Hjalmar Leonard Hammarskjöld (; 4 February 1862 – 12 October 1953) was a Swedish politician, scholar, cabinet minister, Member of Parliament from 1923 to 1938 (first chamber), and Prime Minister of Sweden from 1914 to 1917. In 1890, he m ...

, who suggested that married men be given two votes, as they could be regarded to vote in place of their wives as well. The other motion was presented by

Carl Lindhagen Carl Albert Lindhagen (17 December 1860 – 11 March 1946) was a Swedish lawyer, politician, and pacifist. Carl Lindhagen was the chief magistrate (''borgmästare'') of Stockholm 1903–1930 (i.e. a legal position, not mayor). Life Lindhagen ...

, who suggested women suffrage. The Hammarskjöld suggestion aroused anger among women's rights activists, who formed a support group for the Lindhagen motion. On 4 June 1902, the Association for Women's Suffrage ( or FKPR) was founded: initially a local Stockholm society, it became a national organization the year after. Holmgren was the Vice Chairman of the Stockholm branch of the National Association for Women's Suffrage ( or LKPR) from 1902 to 1904 and the secretary of the executive committee of the Swedish Society for Woman Suffrage from 1903 to 1906. Within the suffrage movement, Holmgren's most important role was that of a speaker: she was the first member after the foundation of the movement to travel nationwide to speak, gather sympathisers and establish local sections of the suffrage movement, a task in which she made use of her wide network of contacts among former Uppsala students. On her 60th birthday in 1910, she was celebrated by the LKPR with a golden chain of 60 links, as she had founded 60 local branches of the women's suffrage society. She was awarded the

Illis quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') (English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It"), is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gust ...

on her 75th birthday. Holmgren was also vice chairman of (Swedish Women's Peace Association) from 1901 to 1910, honorary member of the

Nordic Museum The Nordic Museum ( sv, Nordiska museet) is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period (in Swedish history, it is said to be ...

and the Philochoros Student Folk Dance Association (). After the LKPR was dissolved following the introduction of women's suffrage, Holmgren was one of the founders of the (Civic Society of Swedish Women) in 1921.

Personal life

Holmgren was active as a writer under the pseudonym "Märta Bolle". She published (1894) and (1896), both translated into the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

. Holmgren and her husband Frithiof Holmgren were the parents of eight children, including scientist

Israel Holmgren Israel Frithiofsson Holmgren (1871–1961) was a Swedish scientist, physician and professor at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm. Politically he was a liberal and a teetotaler. He was the son of professor Frithiof Holmgren and writ ...

(1871–1961). She died in 1940 and together with her husband was buried at the Uppsala old cemetery ().

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmgren, Ann-Margret 1850 births 1940 deaths Swedish suffragists Swedish pacifists Swedish nobility Swedish women writers People from Uppland Burials at Uppsala old cemetery

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941) is a Swedish–American actress, singer, and dancer. As an actress and singer, she is credited as Ann-Margret. She is known for her roles in ''Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), ''B ...

Recipients of the Illis quorum

Life

Personal life

See also

References

Related reading

Further reading

External links