Emma Irene Åström
Emma Irene Åström (27 April 1847 – 3 July 1934) was a Finnish teacher and Finland's first female university graduate.
Early life
Åström was born in 1847 in Taivassalo, in the Turku and Pori Province of the Grand Duchy of Finland. Her parents were Justiina Jakobsson, a servant, and Carl Åström, a surveyor. She was the oldest of five children. In 1853, the family moved to Åland, a Swedish-speaking region of Finland, where Emma Åström was raised to speak Swedish and attended a school in Finström.[1][2]
Education
She was sent to the Jyväskylä Teachers' College in 1865 with the persuasion of local clergy members, and the college's director, Uno Cygnaeus, served as her unofficial guardian. Encouraged by Ernst Bonsdorff, the school's mathematics teacher, Åström decided to apply to a Finnish university. Although Cygnaeus initially refused to support the idea, he arranged, through his colleague Cassie von Kothen, for Åström to study at the University of Helsinki.[1]
Although a place had been secured for Åström at the University of Helsinki after her graduation from Jyväskylä Teachers' College in 1873, her father's death in 1874 forced her to postpone her university studies. She accepted a teaching position at Ekenäs Teachers' College to earn money to support her family. Two years later she returned to university and graduated with a master's degree in philosophy in 1882, making her the first woman in Finland to receive a university degree.[1]
Career
In 1886, Åström returned to Ekenäs Teachers' College, where she worked as a teacher of Swedish, Finnish, and history until 1912.[1] From 1913 to 1924, she taught at a co-educational school and at a mission school in Ekenäs. In 1927, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Helsinki, becoming the first Finnish woman to receive an honorary degree.[2] Although she aspired to return to university for further studies, she "abandon[ed] the thought" since she was obliged to support her family financially.
Death
She died in 1934.[2]
Legacy
After graduating from university, Åström became an icon, not only for the
See also
Publications
- Margit Åström (1967). Emma Irene Åström, Finlands första kvinnliga filosofie magister. Wikidata Q113528457.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Väisänen, Maija. "Åström, Emma Irene (1847–1934)". Biografiakeskus, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ^ a b c "Emma Irene Åström". Great Women from the Teacher Seminary. University of Jyväskylä. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-8032-4189-3.
External links
- Emma Irene Åström in 375 humanists, 13 January 2015. University of Helsinki.