Fredrik Natanael Beskow (9March 18658October 1953) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

theologian and school headmaster. He was also active as a preacher, writer, artist,

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 ...

and social activist. Beskow published a number of collections of sermons. He also made substantial contributions as a hymn writer.

Biography

Beskow was born in Hallingeberg, Sweden (now

Västervik Municipality Västervik Municipality (Swedish: ''Västerviks kommun'') is a municipality in Kalmar County, south-eastern Sweden, with its seat in the city of Västervik. The present municipality was created in 1971, when the former ''City of Västervik'' was ...

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...

, Sweden). The son of a priest, Beskow graduated from secondary school in 1883 and got a degree in theological philosophy 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 ...

in 1884. From 1888-92, he studied at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architec ...

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 ...

. He married the children's book author

Elsa Beskow Elsa Beskow ( Maartman; 11February 187430June 1953) was a famous Swedish author and illustrator of children's books. Among her better known books are ''Tale of the Little Little Old Woman'' and ''Aunt Green, Aunt Brown and Aunt Lavender''. Back ...

in 1897 while she was teaching at

Djursholms samskola Djursholms Samskola is the traditional name of a middle school in Djursholm, Sweden. The official name of the school today is '' Viktor Rydbergs Samskola''. History Djursholms Samskola was founded in 1891 as a private, co-educational institution, ...

where he served as head master. Beskow was the headmaster of the newly established co-educational school in

Djursholm Djursholm () is one of four suburban districts in, and the seat of Danderyd Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. Djursholm is included in the multi-municipal Stockholm urban area. Djursholm is divided into a number of different areas: Djursh ...

from 1897 to 1909. They had six sons together. During this time he worked as an artist, and earned a degree in practical theology in 1895. In 1896 he accepted an invitation from the previous year to become a preacher in

, which was being built at the time. Beskow never wholeheartedly agreed with the Swedish church's profession of faith, and was never ordained as a minister. In 1912, with Ebba Pauli, he founded Birkagården, the first of Sweden's so-called "settlements" (''hemgård''); Beskow was director of Birkagården from 1912-46. He was headmaster of the boarding school (''folkhögskola'') at Birkagården from 1916-30, as well as honorary doctorate of theology at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Beskow was a radical pacifist. He was also involved with the campaign for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

in Sweden (which was granted in 1919), and with the

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s. Beskow was often engaged in leading negotiations, and became a prominent negotiator.

Works—a selection

* ''Predikningar'', 1901 * ''Till de unga'', 1904, 5th edition 1920 * ''För det dagliga livet'', 1904-1906 * ''Det kristna livet'', 1908 * ''Ett är nödvändigt'', 1913 * ''Enhet i mångfald'', 1916 * ''Predikningar och föredrag i Birkagården 17-18'', 1918 * ''Fader vår'', 1919 * ''Predikningar 1919-1920'', 1920 * ''På salighetens berg'', 1921 * ''Ett martyrfolk i det tjugonde århundradet'' (about the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

), 1921 * ''Jesu liknelser'', 1922 * ''Evigheten och ögonblicket'', 1924 * ''Kristus och människan'', 1926 * ''I Palestina och Syrien'', 1926 * ''Sanningens väg'', 1929 * ''Inför Människosonen'', 1930 * ''Arbetarrörelsens bildningsideal'', 1930 * ''Guds rike'', 1931 * ''Evigt liv'', 1932 * ''Armeniska flyktingar av idag'', 1936 * ''Nutidsmänniskan och religionen'', 1935 * ''I passionstiden'', 1937 * ''Den kristna människan i världskrisen'', 1937 * ''Vägen'', 1939 * ''Är kristendomen räddningen?'', 1939 * ''Han som kommer'', 1940 * ''Ljuset lyser i mörkret'', 1942 * ''Den heliga striden'', 1943 * ''Kristet samhällsliv - idé och handlingsprogram'', 1943 * ''»... så ock på jorden»'', 1944 * ''Psalmer och andra dikter'', 1944 * ''Kunskapsbildning och själsbildning'', 1947 * ''Gudomligt och mänskligt'', 1950 * ''Tillkomme ditt rike'', 1952 * ''En dag har börjat'', 1954

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beskow, Natanael 1865 births 1953 deaths People from Västervik Municipality Swedish-language writers Swedish Christian pacifists Lutheran pacifists