Betty Linderoth, née Cedergren (

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, 13 February 1822 –

, 10 December 1900), was a Swedish

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

. Betty Linderoth was the daughter of a watchmaker and educated as her father's

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

and

Journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

. When she was mocked by her fellow students as a "watchmaker in skirts", she dressed in trousers and cut her hair. In 1844, she married the watchmaker Gustaf Vilhelm Linderoth (d. 1871) and became the master of his business in Stockholm. She studied in Paris and Switzerland and was later given the task to regularly perform the maintenance of the clocks of the customers. Among her customers were the queen,

Josephine of Leuchtenberg Joséphine of Leuchtenberg (Joséphine Maximilienne Eugénie Napoléone de Beauharnais; 14 March 1807 – 7 June 1876) was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 8 March 1844 to 8 July 1859 as the wife of King Oscar I. She was also Princess of Bologna f ...

, and

Princess Eugenie of Sweden Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

. The Linderoth company had the task to construct the clocks of the nations railway stations, which were in fact made by her. Betty Linderoth was appointed watchmaker to the court of

Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

and honorary member of the Stockholm Watchmaker Society (1889) and the Watchmaker Society of Sweden (1892). She as well as her spouse were awarded at the

1862 International Exhibition The International Exhibition of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses ...

, in her case the first Swedish female watchmaker to have received such an award.

References

* Wilhelmina Stålberg: Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor (1864)
Idun nr 23 years 1894
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