Þorbjörg Sveinsdóttir (1827 – 1903) was an Icelandic midwife and feminist, particularly known for her work for women's right to education. She was born in Iceland to an Icelandic priest. She educated herself as a midwife in Copenhagen in Denmark in 1855–1856, and then returned to Iceland, where she worked as a midwife in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

until 1902. As such she took many midwife students. She never married, but became the foster mother of her orphaned niece, the writer and feminist

Ólafía Jóhannsdóttir Ólafía Jóhannsdóttir (22 October 1863 – 21 June 1924) was an Icelandic teacher and Temperance movement, temperance worker. She traveled and lectured in different countries on behalf of the International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT) a ...

. She was active in the work to establish a university in Iceland. In 1894, she founded a committee to work for the establishment of a university open to women. She was one of the co-founders of the women's organization Hið íslenska kvenfélag. In 1897, she was elected the second president of the Hið íslenska kvenfélag after Sigþrúður Friðriksdóttir.

References

Þorbjörg Sveinsdóttir minningarrit, Hið íslenska Kvenfélag 1908

Tobbukot (Borgarsögusafn)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorbjorg Sveinsdottir 1827 births 1903 deaths 19th-century Icelandic people 19th-century Icelandic women Icelandic feminists Icelandic women's rights activists Midwives