Aurora Society was a
secret society
A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ...
and a national
Finnish literary society
A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsle ...
at the
Royal Academy of Turku
The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...
from 1770 to 1779. The Society consisted of many prominent members of the Finnish cultural sphere and had as its focal points poetry, Finnish history, geography and the research of language and economy.
The Society published Finland's first newspaper, ''Åbo Tidningar (Tidningar Utgifne Af et Sällskap i Åbo)'', between the years 1771 to 1778, and 1782 to 1785.
Furthermore, the first public orchestra concerts in Finland were also organized by the Aurora Society.
The society was a typical product of the
Enlightenment period: a secret society on one hand and a cultural and educational organization on the other
Members
*
Henrik Gabriel Porthan
Henrik Gabriel Porthan (1739 in Viitasaari – 1804 in Turku) was a professor and rector at the Royal Academy of Turku. He was a scholar sometimes known as ''The Father of Finnish History''.
Biography
He was born at Viitasaari in Tavastlan ...
*
Johan Lilius
Johan Lilius (1724–1803) was a Finnish justice of the ''Hovrätt'' in Åbo, at a time when this court was part of the judicial system of Sweden, and a founding member of the Aurora Society.
Lilius was influential in the development and growth o ...
*
Abraham Niklas Edelcrantz
Abraham Niclas (Clewberg) Edelcrantz (28 July 1754 – 15 March 1821) was a Finnish born Swedish poet and inventor. He was a member of the Swedish Academy, chair 2, from 1786 to 1821.
Edelcrantz was the librarian at The Royal Academy of Turk ...
*
Matthias Calonius
Matthias Calonius (January 7, 1738 – September 13, 1817) was Finland's most renowned jurist.
Born in Saarijärvi as a pastor's son, he studied at the Royal Academy of Turku. He went on to become a lecturer and then (in 1773) full professor at t ...
*Carl Fredrik Fredenheim
*
Magnus Jacob Alopaeus
See also
*
Secret society
A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ...
References
Media moves,thisisFINLAND*Musical life in Finland in the 17th and 18th centuries, http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/mainframe?readform&B3DDE16ED09DFD88C22567F40043EAE9
*Henrik Gabriel Porthan, http://www.finnica.fi/centralfinland/whatislike/porthanesittely.htm
*
:fi:Aurora-seura
*Article in
kansallisbiografia
''Suomen kansallisbiografia'' ( en, The National Biography of Finland) is a collection of more than 6,000 biographies of individuals and families who have made important contributions to the development of Finnish society
The culture of Finl ...
, https://web.archive.org/web/20080509051529/http://artikkelihaku.kansallisbiografia.fi/artikkeli/2599/
*A concise history of Finland By D. G. Kirby,
*A History of Finland's Literature By George C. Schoolfield,
Notes
Secret societies in Finland
Finnish writers' organisations
Finnish culture
18th century in Turku
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