Cecilia Elise Beatrice Dickson (31 March 1852 – 18 January 1941) was a Swedish philanthropist and a pioneering temperance activist in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. In 1884, together with her mother, Dickson founded the Överås Blue Cross Association (), Sweden's first

temperance society The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emphasi ...

, serving as its secretary for 15 years. She also chaired the city's or

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

from 1891 to 1916.

Biography

Born on 31 March 1852 in Gothenburg, Cecilia Elise Beatrice Dickson was the youngest child of James Dickson and Eleonore Willerding. Brought up in one of the city's most affluent families, she was educated by her parents and her governess. In the early 1880s, on an extended visit to England with her parents, she came into contact with those involved in the most important social developments of the times, including the YWCA and the housing projects for the poor in London's East End. She cultivated friendships with

Catherine Booth Catherine Booth (''née'' Mumford, 17 January 1829 – 4 October 1890) was co-founder of The Salvation Army, along with her husband William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Moth ...

and Agnes Welin, both leading philanthropists, who inspired her future work and her interest in encouraging temperance for the working classes. On returning to Sweden, together with her mother she founded Sweden's first temperance society on her parents' estate in the

Örgryte Örgryte is one of the 21 ''stadsdelsnämndsområden'' (a kind of district often translated as borough) of Gothenburg Municipality, Sweden. It is a largely upper middle class residential area just to the east of the city centre. History The or ...

district of Gothenburg. She also established (Friends of Young Workers Christian Association). Dickson also supported temperance activities at the national level, spending considerable time on lecturing around the country. From 1906 to 1917, she served on the board of the so-called Gothenburg System, a non-profit establishment set on reducing consumption of alcohol. It later led to the

Systembolaget (, "the System Company"), colloquially known as ("the system") or ("the company"), is a government-owned chain of liquor stores in Sweden. It is the only retail store allowed to sell alcoholic beverages that contain more than 3.5% alcohol by ...

liquor stores in Finland and Sweden. She was awarded the

Illis quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') (English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It") is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gusta ...

in 1916. Beatrice Dickson died on 18 January 1941. She is buried in Gothenburg's Östra kyrkogården.

Biography

References

Further reading