Richard Dybeck (1 September 1811 – 28 July 1877) 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 ...

jurist,

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

, and lyricist. He is mainly remembered as the author of the lyrics to what is now the de facto Swedish

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

, '' Du gamla, Du fria''.

Biography

Dybeck was born in the rectory of Odensvi parish, just outside the town of Köping in

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''västerm ...

, Sweden. He was the son of a clergyman, went to gymnasium in

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås ...

, and later matriculated 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 1831 with a law degree. He completed his civil service degree in law () in 1834 and entered the Svea Court of Appeal (). He held a number of positions in the court system during the following years, but eventually began to spend all his time on his antiquarian and historical research, not least in the field of

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...

s. Dybeck wrote many poems. He was also known to be keenly interested in

Asian culture The culture of Asia encompasses the collective and diverse customs and traditions of art, architecture, music, literature, lifestyle, philosophy, politics and religion that have been practiced and maintained by the numerous ethnic groups ...

, as was seen by his collection of historic prints and lithographs which originated from places like

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Dybeck died in 1877 at Södertälje and was buried at Norra begravningsplatsen in

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 ...

. At Dybecksgården in Odensvi, Richard Dybeck's bust is in bronze by Signe Ehrenborg-Lorichs, which was unveiled by Prince Wilhelm in 1937.Dybeck med nationalsången fyller 150 år. Signe Ehrenborg-Lorichs vid sin byst av Richard Dybeck, Den står framför skaldens födelsegård i Odensvi, Sörmlandsspel 1961-06-02.
År 1961 firades ''Västmanlands Fornminnesförening'' 100-årsjubileum och samtidigt passade man på att högtidlighålla 150-årsminnet av fornforskaren Richard Dybecks födelse. De fyra landshövdingar som väntas till Dybecksfesten är nuvarande Västeråshövdingen Gustav Cederwall, landshövding i Västmanlands län 1961–1980, och de förutvarande Bernhard Gärde (August Bernhard "Abe" Gärde), landshövding i Västmanlands län 1937–1943, Conrad Jonsson (Per Conrad "Conke" Jonsson), landshövding i Västmanlands län 1943–1952, och

Ragnar Casparsson Ragnar ( non, Ragnarr ) is a masculine Germanic given name, composed of the Old Norse elements ''ragin-'' "counsel" and ''hari-'' "army". Origin and variations The Proto-Germanic forms of the compounds are "ragina" (counsel) and "harjaz" or " ...

, landshövding i Västmanlands län 1952–1960. Och går allt i lås, kommer det fyra riksantikvarier och fyra landsantikvarier också.

References

External links

* 1811 births 1877 deaths People from Köping Municipality Uppsala University alumni Swedish male poets Swedish jurists National anthem writers 19th-century Swedish poets 19th-century male writers Swedish antiquarians 19th-century antiquarians {{Sweden-writer-stub Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen