Eirik Mikael Hornborg (29 September 1879 – 29 December 1965) was a Finnish historian, educator, writer, and politician, born in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. He was a member of the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral and Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that ...

from 1916 to 1922 and from 1924 to 1927, representing the

Swedish People's Party of Finland The Swedish People's Party of Finland (SPP; , SFP; , RKP) is a Finnish political party founded in 1906. Its primary aim is to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland. The party is currently a participant i ...

(SFP). Hornborg was a prominent member of the secret network known as the Jäger movement during

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 ...

, which sought Finnish independence with the support of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. In 1916, he traveled clandestinely to Germany and joined the 27th Jäger Battalion on 11 July 1916, shortly after being elected as a Member of Parliament in the

1916 Finnish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in the Grand Duchy of Finland on 1 and 3 July 1916. Background The Parliament of Finland, Finnish Parliament had not been in session during the early years of World War I. The Russian Army, Russian army's severe ...

. In the autumn of 1916, he participated in battles against the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

on the

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

front. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

of 1917, he returned to Finland to resume his parliamentary duties. During the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

in January 1918, Hornborg went into hiding in

, controlled by the

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

side, and became a key organizer of the clandestine White movement in the city. During the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

of 1941–1944, he was part of the

Peace opposition Peace opposition (, ) was a Finnish cross-party movement pushing for Finland to step out of the Continuation War (1941 to 1944). From 1943 to 1944, the "Peace opposition" united bourgeois politicians such as Paasikivi, Kekkonen and Sakari Tuomioja ...

that sought a separate peace with the Allies, achieved in September 1944. Hornborg was also an accomplished writer and editor. He served as the editor-in-chief of ''Nya Argus'' from 1927 to 1948 and was the chairman of The Finland-Swedish Writers' Association (Finlands Svenska Författareförening) in 1922-1924 and 1932, and of the

Society of Swedish Literature in Finland The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland (; SLS) is a scholarly society for the collection, archiving and dissemination of knowledge about Finland-Swedish culture. SLS publishes scholarly literature, maintains archives and libraries, funds r ...

from 1934 to 1947. He received several awards, including the Lybeckska prize in 1921 and 1930, the Tollanderska prize in 1951, and the Kungliga prize in 1951. He was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Stockholm in 1936 and the University of Helsinki in 1950.

Publications

* ''Den döende staden'' (1908) * ''Finska kriget 1808-1809'' (1909) * ''Fortuna'' (1910) * ''Svallvågen'' (1911) * ''Hvarför? och Huru?'' (1914) * ''Rysslands fram marsch'' (1914) * ''Svensk nationalitet i Finland'' (1914) * ''Finlands öde och Sveriges trygghet'' (1915) * ''Under segel till antipoderna'' (1915) * ''Tristan da Cunha'' (1916) * ''Brytningstid'' (1918) * ''Den ensamma vargen'' (1918) * ''Finlands svenskar vid skiljovägen'' (1919) * ''Gudarna'' (1919) * ''Hernando Cortes'' (1919) * ''Isaac Scotts minnen'' (1920) * ''Hernando Cortes och erövringen av Mexico'' (1921) * ''Kriget framställt i skildringar från nyare tid'' (1921) * ''Martin Elfdahl'' (1921) * ''Segelsjöfartens historia'' (1923) * ''Historik över sjö- och stapelstaden Borgås utrikes sjöfart'' (1925) * ''Sjörövare'' (1927) * ''Borgungarna: 1'' (1929) * ''Finlands hävder'' (1929-1933) * ''Borgungarna: 2'' (1931) * ''Konung Gustaf II Adolf'' (1932) * ''Gyllene Hoppet'' (1933) * ''Universitetet och språkstriden'' (1933) * ''Borgungarna: 3'' (1934) * ''Finlands historia'' (1934) * ''Indianer'' (1936) * ''Från forntid till nutid'' (1938) * ''På vallen'' (1939) * ''Sveriges historia'' (1940) * ''Roms tredje storhetstid'' (1941) * ''Gränsfästet Viborg. Från korstågstiden till våra dagar'' (1942) * ''Den vite mannens börda'' (1943) * ''Sveriges sjöförsvar från äldsta tider till våra dagar'' (1944) * ''Kampen om Östersjön'' (1945) * ''Stefan Löfving'' (1946) * ''Helsingfors stads historia'' (1950) * ''Karolinen Armfelt och kampen om Finland under Stora nordiska kriget'' (1952) * ''Hårda bud'' (1953) * ''Fänrik Ståls sägner och verkligheten'' (1954) * ''Länder och hav'' (1954) * ''När riket sprängdes'' (1955) * ''Klanernas Skottland'' (1956) * ''Det fria Finland'' (1957) * ''Man i ledet'' (1959) * ''Stormig höst'' (1960) * ''Tider och öden'' (1961)

References

1879 births 1965 deaths Writers from Helsinki People from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Swedish-speaking Finns Swedish People's Party of Finland politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1916–1917) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1917–1919) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1919–1922) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1924–1927) 20th-century Finnish historians Finnish educators University of Helsinki alumni Jägers of the Jäger Movement Finnish people of World War II {{SwedishPeoplesParty-politician-stub