Axel Carl Johan Gustafson (c. 1847 – ?) was a Swedish-American author.

Biography

He was born in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, about 1847. His father was a clergyman, and Axel was educated in his native town. At the age of twenty-one he came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, was naturalized, and began to write for the press. Becoming interested in the

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

movement, he contributed to a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

journal an article on the Gottenburg system of granting licenses, which led to an investigation of the different licensing systems of the world. He also became a contributor to several of the leading periodicals.

Career

Soon after coming to the United States, Gustafson married

Zadel Barnes Buddington Zadel Barnes Budington Gustafson (1841–1917) was an American author, poet and journalist. Biography Zadel Barnes was born in Middletown, Connecticut. She was the daughter of Duane Barnes and Cynthia Turner. Early in her life, she began writi ...

, who greatly assisted him in his literary work. Going to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Mr. and Mrs. Gustafson met Samuel Morley, the

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, who induced the former to change his intention of writing a work on the abuse of tobacco, and discuss the liquor question instead. ''The Foundation of Death'' (London, 1884) was the outcome of this change of plan. This work discusses the use of liquor among the ancients, the history of the discovery of distillation, liquor adulterations, the effects of alcohol on the physical organs and functions, the social and moral results arising from the drinking habit, heredity, the use of alcohol as a medicine, and includes an inquiry into the methods of reformation. It passed through three editions, and has been translated into Swedish, German, French, Spanish, Malagasy, Burmese, and Mahratta. In 1887, Gustafson founded the

National Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

to further his views. ntitled article ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 7 April 1887, p.9

Selected works

*''The United States and the Panama Canal'' (1882) *''The Foundation of Death. A study of the drink-question'' (London, 1884) *''The Medicine Stamp Tax; an oppressive burden on the sick, an encouragement to quackery, etc''(1884) *''Some thoughts on moderation in the use of alcohol'' (1885)

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gustafson, Axel Carl Johan 1847 births Year of death unknown Swedish male writers Swedish emigrants to the United States American male writers People from Lund American temperance activists