Vilhelmine Ullmann (née Dunker; 16 March 1816 – 28 April 1915) was a Norwegian pedagogue, publicist, literary critic and proponent for women's rights.

Early and personal life

Ullmann was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. She was the daughter of socialite Conradine Birgitte Hansteen and Johan Friedrich Wilhelm Dunker. She was the sister of

Bernhard Dunker Bernhard Dunker (22 May 1809 – 28 July 1870) was a Norwegian jurist, barrister and Attorney General of Norway. Personal life Dunker was born in the Duchy of Schleswig in Southern Jutland to Conradine Birgitte Hansteen and Johan Friedrich W ...

, who served as Attorney General of Norway. Growing up in a home where her mother was running a private school for girls, Vilhelmine learned French and

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 ...

as a child. She was also a child actress, performing in

Det Dramatiske Selskab Det Dramatiske Selskab is the name for several Norwegian amateur theatre drama troupes. These troupes were the first permanent theatre troupes in the cities of Norway. The period between 1780–1830 is described by many as ''the age of the dramatic ...

in Christiania from the age of nine. She married Jørgen Nicolai Axel Ullmann in 1839. They had six children (five of them surviving), and separated in 1854. She was the mother of pedagogue and feminist

Ragna Nielsen Ragna Vilhelmine Nielsen (née Ullmann) (17 July 1845 – 29 September 1924) was a Norwegian pedagogue, school headmistress, publicist, organizer, politician and feminist. Personal life Ragna Nielsen was born in Christiania (now Oslo) to Jø ...

and educator and politician

Viggo Ullmann Johan Christian Viggo Ullmann (21 December 1848 – 30 August 1910) was a Norwegian educator and politician with Venstre, the Norwegian social-liberal party. He was the son of the author Vilhelmine Ullmann, brother of the feminist Ragna Niels ...

Career

From 1862 to 1894 Ullmann was running the children's institution ''Vaterland Børneasyl''. She also translated children's stories from German into Norwegian language, and published poems and short stories in the magazine ''Nordisk illustreret Børneblad''. She was a member of the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...

from its foundation in 1884, and contributed to the feminist magazine ''

Nylænde ''Nylænde'' (Norwegian: ''New Frontiers'') was a Norwegian political and cultural magazine that focused on women's rights. It was regarded as one of the most influential political magazines in Norway in its time and played an important role in th ...

'', where she wrote literary critics under the signature "M.D." She also wrote articles about women's conditions in the society. Her autobiography ''Fra Tyveaarene og lidt mere'' was published in 1903.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ullmann, Vilhelmine 1816 births 1915 deaths Schoolteachers from Oslo Norwegian women's rights activists Norwegian literary critics Norwegian women literary critics Norwegian women activists Norwegian women non-fiction writers Norwegian autobiographers Women autobiographers Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people