Nils Ahnlund (23 August 1889 – 11 January 1957) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

historian. He was professor of history at the then- Stockholm University College 1928–1955, and became a member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is b ...

in 1941. He was the father of physician Hans Olof Ahnlund, literary scientist Knut Ahnlund and the grandfather of journalist and writer

Nathan Shachar Nathan or Natan may refer to: People * Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Nathan (surname) * Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David ...

Biography

Nils Ahnlund was born in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat 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 inha ...

as the eldest son of theologian Olof Ahnlund and Hilda Svensson. In 1893 his father was appointed vicar in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, U ...

where Nils finished his secondary education. Thereafter he enrolled at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance durin ...

, where he quickly became a disciple of Harald Hjärne. His research mainly focused on the time of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually t ...

, and his dissertation was on

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as G ...

' diplomatic relations. Between 1926 and 1926 he worked at ''

Svenska Dagbladet ''Svenska Dagbladet'' (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of ''Svenska Dagbladet'' appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of t ...

'' where he had a promising career ahead of him. However, he chose the academic path and became the first professor of history at Stockholm University College in 1928. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he participated in the public debate, exhibiting nationalist sentiments. In the same period he was a member of the nationalist association

Samfundet Nordens Frihet Samfundet Nordens Frihet (, " Nordic Freedom Society") was a Swedish association founded in 1939 to promote independence for the Nordic countries during the Second World War. The association was dissolved in 1946. History Initially Samfundet Nor ...

and among the contributors of its magazine, ''

Nordens Frihet ''Nordens Frihet'' ( sv, Nordic Freedom) was a Swedish language anti-Nazi weekly magazine that was published by Samfundet Nordens Frihet, an association established to support the independence of the Nordic countries. The magazine existed between ...

''. Ahnlund was a popularizer of history and became widely known for his contributions in newspapers and radio, but in academia he was also successful and became, among other things, a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademin abbreviated KVHAA ( sv, Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien Historie och Antikvitets Akademien or or ) is the Swedish royal ...

as early as 1934 and the Swedish Academy. He was also made a member of several Nordic academic societies as well as vice president of the Comité International des Sciences Historiques.Abridged translation from Swedish Wikipedia (https://sv.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nils_Ahnlund&oldid=30265574)

Publications

*Mo och Domsjöverken : deras ägare och utveckling intill 1873. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wicksell. 1917 *Gustaf II Adolf inför tyska kriget. Stockholm: Nya tryckeri-aktiebolaget. 1918 *Storhetstidens gryning : gestalter och händelser. Stockholm: Geber. 1918 *Sundsvalls historia. 1-2. Sundsvall. 1921 *Anmärkningar till handlingar rörande professuren i historia vid Uppsala universitet : sakkunniges utlåtanden och humanistiska sektionens betänkande. Stockholm: Nord. bokh. 1923

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahnlund, Nils 1889 births 1957 deaths Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Swedish Academy 20th-century Swedish historians Uppsala University alumni Stockholm University faculty Members of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy