Ida Mariette Helene Falbe-Hansen born Hansen (19 February 1849 – 23 September 1922) was a Danish educator,

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

and

women's activist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. A pioneer in the teaching of Swedish, she published textbooks and promoted Swedish literature in Denmark. She was also active on the board of the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS () is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The as ...

and chaired the Danish Women's Council.

Biography

Born in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

on 19 February 1849, Ida Mariette Helene Falbe-Hansen was the daughter of Johan Jørgen Hansen (1802–76) and Mariette Caroline Emilie Ernestine Basse (1817–83). In 1877, she attended N. Zahle's School in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

where, after completing a teacher training course, she was employed by the school as a teacher (1878–84). After a brief spell teaching at Vældegaard Kvindeskole in

Gentofte Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...

, she travelled to London where she studied at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. In 1889 she returned to Zahle's school where she taught Swedish and Danish until 1899. In 1890, she became the first woman to graduate in Nordic philology from

Copenhagen University The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. The University of Copenhagen c ...

. As a result of her effective teaching skills, she became an inspector for the state school teachers' examination (1892–1911) and, from 1910 to 1919, chair of Den Danske Pigeskole (Danish School for Girls). During this period, she also served as a member of the Board of Applied Sciences Examinations as well as a ministerial representative. Falbe-Hansen was a pioneering teacher of Swedish, publishing excellent textbooks and promoting Swedish literature in Denmark. In collaboration with Elisabeth Grundtvig, she translated the works of the Swedish Nobel laureate

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish writer. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was ...

. She was also active in

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 ...

, becoming a board member of the

(1883–86) and of the Women's Reading Association (1889–96). In 1899, she became chair of the Danish Women's National Council. As a

literary historian The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment or education to the reader, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pie ...

, she published several works including ''Den ny Eventyrbog'' (1873) and ''Gamle danske Folkeviser'' (Old Danish Folksongs, 1917). In 1914, she was awarded the Danish Medal of Merit and, in 1915, the Swedish

Litteris et Artibus Litteris et Artibus is a Swedish royal medal established in 1853 by Charles XV of Sweden, who was then crown prince. It is awarded to people who have made important contributions to culture, especially music, dramatic art and literature. The ob ...

. Ida Falbe-Hansen died on 23 September 1922 in the

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

district of Copenhagen. She is buried in

Frederiksberg Ældre Kirkegård Frederiksberg Ældre Kirkegård is a cemetery in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark. It was established in 1734 behind Frederiksberg Church. Burials * C.F. Gerner Andersen * Kai Normann Andersen * Peter Andersen (ironmaster), Peter Andersen * Ch ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falbe-Hansen, Ida 1849 births 1922 deaths 19th-century Danish educators 20th-century Danish educators Danish educators Danish women educators Danish feminists Danish women writers People from Odense Litteris et Artibus recipients Recipients of the Medal of Merit (Denmark) 19th-century Danish philologists 20th-century Danish philologists Women philologists