Johanna ''Mathilda'' Linsén (November 26, 1831, Helsinki - February 5, 1872), was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

pedagogue. She is regarded as a pioneer within the education of the blind in Finland: she was the founder and principal of the first school for the blind in Finland in 1865-1872.

Life

Mathilda Linsén was the daughter of professor Johan Gabriel Linsen and Wilhelmina Petronella Hoeckert, and sister of the composer

Gabriel Linsén In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...

. She was educated by her father and as an autodidact. By the help of

Uno Cygnaeus Uno Cygnaeus (12 October 1810 in Hämeenlinna – 2 January 1888 in Helsinki) was a Finnish clergyman, educator, and chief inspector of the country's school system. He is considered the father of the Finnish public school system. His accomplishm ...

, she was given state support to study the education of the blind in Germany and Scandinavia in 1863-64. In 1865, her rapport was published, and Finland's first school for the blind was founded in Helsinki, for which she was made principal. In 1867, she published another investigation on the subject.

References

kansallisbiografia Suomen kansallisbiografia (National Biography of Finland)
1831 births 1872 deaths People from the Grand Duchy of Finland 19th-century educators from the Russian Empire 19th-century Finnish educators Finnish women educators Swedish-speaking Finns {{Finland-bio-stub