Thora Maria Fredrika Hildegard Björck (1 May 1847 – 7 April 1920) was the first Swedish woman to complete an

academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into und ...

.Hypokrates kjolar
. Ergo.ronne.se.Studentlivet förändrar ditt liv
UNT.se. She is today considered a female academic pioneer in Sweden. Björck received the opportunity to enlist and graduate with degrees from both

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

and

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

. She also had an interest in literature and worked against prostitution.Digitaliserade svenska dagstidningar
". Kungl. biblioteket – National Library of Sweden.

Biography

Hildegard Björck was born on 1 May 1847 in Bro,

Värmland Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Name Several Latinized version ...

. She was the daughter of surveyor Carl Emanuel Björck and his wife Anna Charlotte Roman. Anna died when Hildegard was just four years old, and her father died in 1869 when she was 22 years old. The year after her father's death, an opportunity arose for Swedish women to get a studentexamen, and Hildegard Björck was one of the first to take the opportunity.Nilsson, Ulrika. (5 December 2003
Kampen om Kvinnan: Professionaliseringsprocesser och konstruktioner av kön i svensk gynekologi 1860–1925 (The Politics of Woman: Professionalisation Processes and Constructions of Gender in Swedish Gynaecology, 1860–1925)
. Academia.edu. She graduated from the Nya Elementar-school in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in June 1872 and the following year entered

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () 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 operation. Initially fou ...

, graduating with a medico-philosophy degree in 1873 and a medicine degree in 1879. She studied there at the same time as the writer

Ellen Fries Ellen Fries (23 September 1855 – 31 March 1900) was a Swedish feminist and writer. She became the first female Ph.D. in Sweden in 1883. She also founded several women's organizations. Biography She born in 1855 at Rödslegård in Törnsfal ...

, although the two disagreed on many issues. In the spring of 1880, Björck was accepted at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

; however, after suffering from

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

and additional hearing problems, she stopped her studies and never became a licensed doctor. Björck became an informal assistant doctor to anatomy professor Carl Fredrik Naumann, and her part uncle who was a medicine doctor who lived in Stockholm. After both men died from old age, Björck worked as a private carer to a number of individuals in France, England and Switzerland. One of them, Julia Ewelöf, became a close friend, and they lived together in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

in the same dwelling until Björck's death on 7 April 1920. Björck's ashes were given to her relatives in Sweden in 1928, and she was buried in the Björck family grave at the Skogskyrkogården cemetery in

next to her brother Rudolf.Professorsinstallation
". Lunds University.

Biography

See also

References

Further reading