Maria Cederschiöld
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Hedvig ''Maria'' Reddita Cederschiöld (29 June 1856,
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 ...
– 19 October 1935, Stockholm) was a Swedish journalist and women's rights activist. She was the chief editor of the foreign office at ''
Aftonbladet (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish language, Swedish daily tabloid newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lar ...
'' in 1909–1921, and the first woman in Sweden to hold such a position at a Swedish newspaper. She was also a secretary and vice chairperson of the Swedish branch of the
International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...
.


Life

Maria Cederschiöld was born to the official and noble Gustaf Cederschiöld (1812–1860) and Elsa Vilhelmina (Mimmy) Borg (1820–1889) and was the sister of the linguist
Gustaf Cederschiöld Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
. After the death of her father in 1860, the family lived under reduced circumstances in the home of her maternal grandmother. She studied at the Statens normalskola för flickor in 1864–1870 and the Wallinska flickskolan in 1872–74. In 1874, she took her ''
Studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...
'' at the
Gymnasium (school) ''Gymnasium'' (and Gymnasium (school)#By country, variations of the word) is a term in various European languages for a secondary school that prepares students for higher education at a university. It is comparable to the US English term ''U ...
in Stockholm. As there were yet no schools open to women which had the right to issue such a degree (that reform was introduced later that year), she and the four other female students studied at home and then attended the exam with the regular students at the gymnasium for boys. One of the three other girls were her lifelong friend,
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 ...
. Because of economic reasons, she was not able to follow her wish to study at the university after exam, as the family preferred to finance the studies of her brother. Therefore, she worked as a governess in 1874–1876, as a translator in 1876–1877 and as a teacher at Wallinska flickskolan in 1877–1884. Despite being described as a beauty who attracted a great deal of attention in the 1870s, she never married. In fact, at one point, she was reportedly in love with
Knut Wicksell Johan Gustaf Knut Wicksell (December 20, 1851 – May 3, 1926) was a Swedish economist of the Stockholm school. He was professor at Uppsala University and Lund University. He made contributions to theories of population, value, capital and mon ...
, but found him too radical. Maria Cederschiöld was described as an intelligent, gifted and with a strong will, but also as introvert and reserved. On 4 November 1884, Maria Cederschiöld was employed at
Aftonbladet (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish language, Swedish daily tabloid newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lar ...
. She was given the post partially through the influence of
Anna Hierta-Retzius Anna Wilhelmina Hierta-Retzius, née ''Hierta'' (24 August 1841 – 21 December 1924), was a Swedish women's rights activist and philanthropist. She was the co-founder and secretary of the '' Married Woman's Property Rights Association'' (1873), f ...
, a major stockholder at Aftonbladet and married to the editor at the time. She made translations, wrote foreign news articles and reviewed literature as a critic. In 1909, she succeeded Ernst Wallis as head of the foreign news department, and was given the responsibility for all foreign articles. She was the first woman journalist in Sweden in such a position and, thereby, a pioneer. In 1911, she became a member of the
Swedish Publicists' Association The Swedish Publicists' Association ( Swedish: ''Publicistklubben'') is a Swedish organisation devoted to promoting freedom of the press and free speech in journalism. The Association was founded in Stockholm in 1874 and today it has approximately ...
. In 1918, she described her first period in the journalism profession and commented that it had in fact been much less controversial for a woman to be a journalist in the 1880s, when women's emancipation was still a welcomed novelty and not such a provocation as it was to be later:
Maria Cederschiöld was also active as a women's rights activist both nationally and internationally. Between 1884 and 1900, she was the secretary of the '' Svenska Kvinnors Nationalförbund'', the Swedish branch of the
International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...
, and its vice chairperson from 1909 to 1919, and participated as the Swedish delegate in its congresses in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
1899,
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 ...
(with
Hilda Sachs Hilda Gustafva Sachs (13 March 1857, Norrköping – 26 February 1935), was a Swedish journalist, translator, writer and feminist. She was the daughter of merchant Johan Gustaf Engström and Gustafva Augusta Gustafsson in Norrköping. She worke ...
) in 1900,
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
1904, and its board meetings in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
1904 and Berlin 1912. In 1902, she wrote the appeal accompanying 4154 signatures in favor of
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
sent to the parliament by the
Fredrika Bremer Association The Fredrika Bremer Association (, abbreviated FBF) is the oldest women's rights organisation in Sweden. The association stands for an inclusive, intersectional and progressive liberal feminism, and advocates for women's rights and LGBT rights. I ...
before the creation of the National Association for Women's Suffrage. Cederschiöld was a member of the women's association
Nya Idun ('New Idun') is a Swedish cultural association for women founded in 1885, originally as a female counterpart to ('the Idun Society'). Its aim was to "gather educated women in the Stockholm area for informal gatherings". Activity was founded ...
. In 1892–1895, she was the secretary of the
Married Woman's Property Rights Association The Married Woman Property Association () was a Swedish women's rights organisation active in Sweden between 1873 and 1896. Its purpose was to work for the introduction of reformed laws in favor of women's equality with men. The association was fo ...
. She was also engaged in a number of other civil organisations for women's rights, welfare and literature.


Works

*''Lars Johan Hierta och kvinnas rätt i samhället'' (
Lars Johan Hierta Lars Johan Hierta (; 22 January 1801 – 20 November 1872) was a Swedish Publishing, newspaper publisher, Social criticism, social critic, businessman and politician. He is best known as the founder of the newspaper ''Aftonbladet'' in 1830. Hier ...
and the rights of women in society) 1901 *''Den svenska gifta kvinnans rättsliga ställning'' (The legal position of the married Swedish woman) 1903 *''En banbryterska. En minnesskrift över Ellen Fries'' (A pioneer. A memorial over
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 ...
) 1913


See also

*
Wendela Hebbe Wendela Hebbe (; 9 September 1808 – 27 August 1899), was a Swedish journalist, writer, and salon hostess. She was arguably the first permanently employed female journalist at a Swedish newspaper.Berger, Margareta, Pennskaft: kvinnliga journali ...


References


Additional sources

* Österberg, Carin et al., ''Svenska kvinnor: föregångare, nyskapare'' (Swedish women; Predecessors, pioneers). Lund: Signum 1990. ()
Publicistklubbens porträttmatrikel / 1936
* Berger, Margareta, Pennskaft: kvinnliga journalister i svensk dagspress 1690–1975, Norstedt, Stockholm, 1977


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cederschiold, Maria Swedish suffragists 1856 births 1935 deaths 19th-century Swedish nobility 19th-century Swedish journalists 19th-century Swedish women journalists 19th-century Swedish writers
Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
20th-century Swedish journalists Journalists from Stockholm