Alma Söderhjelm (10 May 1870 – 16 March 1949) was a
Swedish-speaking Finnish historian and the first female professor in Finland.
Academic career
After gaining an M.A. in history, Söderhjelm spent three years in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, preparing her doctoral thesis under the supervision of
Alphonse Aulard. This was a study of journalism during the French Revolution and it was published as ''Le Régime de la presse pendant la Révolution française''.
She was awarded a doctorate in 1900.
On the basis of this thesis, the university unanimously proposed to award her a lectureship. This appointment was delayed until 1906, because of political concern over her father and her brother. The Emperor was also concerned that if a woman became a lecturer in Finland, the same demand would be made in Russia.
In 1906, she finally became the first female lecturer in Finland. She stayed in this position until 1927. At this point, she became chair of General History at
Ã…bo Akademi University
Ã…bo Akademi University ( , ) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Ã…bo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activities in Vaasa. Ã… ...
, and thus the first female professor in Finland.
Her academic work also involved editing the correspondence of the
French Queen Marie Antoinette with the Swedish nobleman von Fersen and with some French revolutionaries.
Other activities
Söderhjelm worked as a journalist, writing a column for the newspaper ''
Åbo Underrättelser
''Åbo Underrättelser'' is a Swedish language newspaper published in Turku (), Finland. Åbo Underrättelser, or ÅU in short, is the oldest newspaper still published in Finland.
History and profile
''Åbo Underrättelser'' is the oldest newspa ...
''. She also wrote novels, poetry, and a five-volume memoir.
She co-wrote the screenplay for ''
The Blizzard
"The Blizzard" (or The Snow Storm) (, ''Metél' '') is the second of five short stories that constitute ''The Belkin Tales'' by Alexander Pushkin. The manuscript for the story was originally completed October 20, 1830. It was intended to be the la ...
'' (1923), directed by
Mauritz Stiller
Mauritz Stiller (born Moshe Stiller, 17 July 1883 – 8 November 1928) was a Finnish film director of Jewish origin, best known for discovering Greta Garbo and bringing her to America. Stiller was a pioneer of the Swedish film industry, writing ...
.
Söderhjelm was politically active. She smuggled journals into Finland from Sweden, and helped military volunteers to move from Sweden into Germany.
Söderhjelm, Alma (1870 - 1949)
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References
External links
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Alma Söderhjelm in 375 humanists – 27 April 2015. Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki.
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Soderhjelm, Alma
1870 births
1949 deaths
Historians of the French Revolution
Finnish women historians
Finnish women academics
Swedish-speaking Finns
Academic staff of Ã…bo Akademi University
20th-century Finnish historians