Elsa Teresia Andersson (27 April 1897 in
Strövelstorp
Strövelstorp is a urban areas of Sweden, locality situated in Ängelholm Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 1,087 inhabitants in 2010.
References
Populated places in Ängelholm Municipality
{{Skåne-geo-stub ...
, Sweden – 22 January 1922) was Sweden's first female
aviator
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...
and stunt
parachutist
Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes.
For hu ...
.
She was the daughter of a poor farmer in Strövelstorp in the
Scania
Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...
n countryside. Her mother died when she was aged six. Her elder brother left the family and sought a new life in America.
Always showing determination and ambition, she wanted to become more than just a farmer's wife and so, aged 21, in 1920, she learned to fly, becoming Sweden's first woman pilot. Her diploma was "no. 203". Not content with that, she went to Germany to learn parachute jumping.
In 1922, Andersson was killed on her third jump in
Askersund
Askersund is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Askersund Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with a population census of 3,887 inhabitants in 2010.
Geography
Askersund is a popular tourist destination with swimming and nature ...
, Sweden. Thousands of spectators were gathering below on the ice of the frozen lake
Alsen. She had trouble releasing her parachute, which finally unfolded only at a small distance from the treetops and she crashed violently into the ground.
In 1926, the Swedish Aero Club erected a three-metre-high
obelisk
An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
as a memorial in the place where she was found dead.
Novel and film
*In 1996 the Swedish novelist
Jacques Werup adapted her life in his novel ''Den ofullbordade himlen'' ("The Imperfect Sky").
*In 2001 the novel was the basis for the film by
Jan Troell
Jan Gustaf Troell (born 23 July 1931) is a Swedish writer-director and cinematographer. His realistic films, with a lyrical photography in which nature is prominent, have placed him in the first rank of modern Swedish film directors along with I ...
''
Så vit som en snö'' (a.k.a. ''As White as a Snow'')
in which Andersson was played by the actress
Amanda Ooms
Amanda Francisca Ooms (born 5 September 1964) is a Dutch-Swedish actress and author. She has acted in both film and TV in Sweden and internationally. She was born in Kalmar. Ooms participates in season 10 of '' Stjärnorna på slottet'' which w ...
. The film was awarded the Swedish critics' prize for best Swedish film of the year. The film depicted her as having affairs with both sexes, but it is not clear how accurately this reflected Andersson's real life.
* Werup, Jacques: ''Den ofullbordade himlen''.
tockholm: Bonnier, 1996. - (Swedish edition).
Notes
Further reading
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersson, Elsa
1897 births
1922 deaths
Women aviators
Swedish aviators
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Sweden
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1922
People from Ängelholm Municipality