Anna Alida Theresia Nilsson (1869–1947) was a Swedish drawing teacher,

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

, and

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world p ...

. Based in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

from 1902, she was active in many associations including those dealing with education,

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and the women's movement in Sweden. After the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1919 she was active in the Swedish branch of the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

(WILPF). In 1923, together with

Matilda Widegren Maria Matilda Aurora Widegren (1863–1938) was a Swedish educator and peace activist. A delegate for Sweden at the 1915 International Congress of Women held in The Hague, she helped establish the Swedish branch of the International League for ...

and others, she established Nordiska Lärares Fredsförbund (Scandinavian Teachers’ Federation for Peace). After retiring from teaching in 1929, she travelled widely across Europe in support of the WILPF, distributing her pamphlet "ABC of the Peace Movement. Dates and Facts" in many different languages.

Early life

Born in Södra Såm in

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

, Anna Alida Theresia Nilsson was the daughter of Hans Petter Nilsson, a textile executive, and his wife Albertina Juliana née Hulander. She was the fourth of the family's five children. In 1886, a year after her father died, she moved to Stockholm, studying at the HKS art college while living with her younger sister

Ada Ada may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle'', a novel by Vladimir Nabokov Film and television * Ada, a character in 1991 movie '' Armour of God II: Operation Condor'' * '' Ada... A Way of Life'', a 2008 Bollywo ...

who later became a physician and magazine editor. She graduated as a drawing instructor in 1890.

Career

After teaching in Stockholm for two years, she moved to

where she spent eight years at the technical college. After a year in

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of t ...

, she returned to Malmö where she initially taught both at Misses Bunth's Girls School and at the realschool for boys. From 1910 until her retirement in 1929, she taught at the realschool. Nilsson was active in several Malmö associations, serving on the boards of the suffragist federation Skåneförbundet för kvinnas politiska rösträtt, the ladies' Malmö Damsällskap, the liberal party's women's club Malmö Frisinnade Kvinnoklubb and the women's club and reading society Malmö Kvinnliga Klubb- och Läsesällskap. After the end of World War I, in 1919 Nilsson was active in the Swedish branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). In 1923, together with Matilda Widegren and representatives from Norway and Finland, she established Nordiska Lärares Fredsförbund (Scandinavian Teachers’ Federation for Peace). After retiring from teaching in 1929, she travelled widely across Europe in support of the WILPF, distributing her pamphlet "ABC of the Peace Movement. Dates and Facts" which had been translated into many different languages. Anna T. Nilsson died in Malmö on 11 December 1947 and was buried in the Södra Säm churchyard.

Publications

Nilsson's publications include: *1924: Data och fakta rörande fredsrörelsen (Data and facts in connection with the peace movement) *1933: Från tvenne slagfält - och från ett tredje (From two battlefields — and from a third) *1934: Fredsrörelsens ABC : data och fakta, second edition (ABC of the Peace Movement. Dates and Facts) *1945: Tio lyckliga år : på resa i fredsarbetets tjänst (Ten happy years: on a journey in the service of peace work)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Anna T. 1869 births 1947 deaths People from Ulricehamn Municipality People from Malmö 19th-century Swedish educators 19th-century Swedish women educators 20th-century Swedish educators Swedish suffragists Swedish anti-war activists Pacifist feminists Swedish pacifists 20th-century Swedish writers 20th-century Swedish women writers

Early life

Career

Publications

See also

References