Magna Charlotta Katarina Sunnerdahl (1863–1935) was a Swedish

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

. On inheriting a huge fortune when her father died in 1908, she founded a number of boarding schools for needy children known as ''Sunnerdahls Hemskolor''. From 1914, she made a series of donations to the

city of Stockholm Stockholm Municipality () or the City of Stockholm () is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It has the largest population of the 290 municipalities of the country, but one of the smallest areas, making it the second most ...

for the construction of low-rental apartments to house working-class families with several children.

Biography

Born on 26 May 1863 in Stockholm, Magna Charlotta Katarina Sunnerdahl was the daughter of the wholesale merchant Anders Petter Emil Sunnerdahl (1826–1908) and Hedda Ulrike née Francke (1836–1865). She lost her mother when she was only two in connection with the birth of her brother who died when he was 18. She lived with her father for the rest of his life in their home in Stockholm's

Drottninggatan Drottninggatan (''Queen Street'') in Stockholm, Sweden, is a major pedestrian street. It stretches north from the bridge Riksbron at Norrström, in the district of Norrmalm, to Observatorielunden in the district of Vasastaden. Composition Fo ...

or their summer residence in

Bromma Bromma () is a Boroughs of Stockholm, borough (''stadsdelsområde'') in the western part of Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the Stockholm Municipality. Bromma is primarily made up of Bromma Parish and Västerled Parish. The fourth largest airpo ...

. When her father died in August 1908, he had not made a will. As a result, she inherited his fortune of SEK 9 million, an enormous sum at the time. Shortly after her father's death, she made a donation of SEK 4 million to the church ministry for establishing boarding schools known as Sunnerdahl Schools where less fortunate children from the cities could be constructively educated in the country. The first school opened in 1911 in the Låssa district of

Upplands-Bro Municipality Upplands-Bro Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Kungsängen. The municipality was formed in 1952 through the amalgamation of five rural municipalities in Uppsala Coun ...

with 30 carefully selected pupils, 16 girls and 14 boys. By 1916, over 100 pupils were being educated in several establishments. Subjects included agriculture, gardening and handicrafts while the girls learnt housekeeping, child care and sewing. In 1913, she made a further donation of SEK 500,000 to the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

for purchasing the top floors of the

Stockholm Stock Exchange Building The Stock Exchange Building () is a building originally erected for the Stockholm Stock Exchange between 1773 and 1778 from construction drawings by Erik Palmstedt. The stock exchange moved out of the building completely in 1998. It is located on ...

so that it could hold its meetings there. In 1914, 1928 and 1935, she made donations to the city of Stockholm for the construction of five residential buildings on

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...

which needy families with children could rent at reasonable rates. Magna Sunnerdahl lived on in central Stockholm with her friend and relative Elisabet Lincke who died in 1923. Sunnerdahl continued to live there until her death on 9 August 1935, when she left about SEK 2.5 million, principally for the Sunnerdahl schools but also for the Swedish Academy.

Awards

In 1924, Magna Summerdahl 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 ...

medal for her philanthropic activities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunnerdahl, Magna 1863 births 1935 deaths 20th-century Swedish philanthropists 20th-century women philanthropists People from Stockholm Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen Recipients of the Illis quorum