Nils Arfwidsson (7 May 1802,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

– 14 April 1880,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and government official.

Biography

He was born to Niklas Arfwidsson, a village counselor, and his wife, Anna Margareta née von Jacobsson, the daughter of a businessman. His family moved to

Skara Skara is a locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18,580 inhabitants in 2013. Despite its small size, it is one of the oldest cities in Sweden, and has a long educational and ecclesiastical history. O ...

, where his father died in 1813 and they were forced into declaring bankruptcy. His mother died shortly after. Having been given a good education in French and English, he was able to go to

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

and pass his in 1820. However, it soon came to the attention of Count

Lars von Engeström Count Lars von EngeströmThe official English translation of the Treaty of Orebro 18 July 1812 translates his name from French as Lawrence Baron d'Engeström (''British and Foreign State Papers'', Volume 1 Part 1 (1812-1814), published by the Gr ...

that he was a regular visitor to the "Café des Indépendents", a meeting place for radicals, which effectively ended his career prospects. After failing to enter the diplomatic corps, he began writing art and literary criticism. His writings became popular so, in 1828, 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 ...

offered to name him head of the editorial offices for the ''

Post- och Inrikes Tidningar ''Post- och Inrikes Tidningar'' () or ''PoIT'' is the government newspaper and gazette of Sweden, and the country's official notification medium for announcements like bankruptcy declarations or auctions. The newspaper also carries advertising, t ...

''. He was there until 1830, when he received a warning from the government for an article he translated from the ''

Journal des Débats The ''Journal des débats'' (, ''Journal of Debates'') was a French newspaper, published between 1789 and 1944 that changed title several times. Created shortly after the first meeting of the Estates-General of 1789, it was, after the outbreak ...

'', supporting the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

in France. After that, he became an employee of the ''

Aftonbladet (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish language, Swedish daily tabloid newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lar ...

'', where he edited the literature and foreign news sections. Finding himself in constant conflict with the political opinions of its owner,

Lars Johan Hierta Lars Johan Hierta (; 22 January 1801 – 20 November 1872) was a Swedish Publishing, newspaper publisher, Social criticism, social critic, businessman and politician. He is best known as the founder of the newspaper ''Aftonbladet'' in 1830. Hier ...

, in 1832 he joined with his brother-in-law, the journalist , in a successful bid to buy the ', a small, but long established liberal newspaper. They planned to build it up into a major forum for liberal ideas, with Arfwidsson responsible for the coverages of cultural affairs and foreign policy. Shortly after acquiring it, however, his first wife Charlotta Lovisa Sjöborg died and, in his sadness, he left to travel abroad; sending home travelogues and articles on art and literature. Dalman would remain as editor until 1848. In 1839, he gave up his journalistic career and was appointed Secretary of Protocol for . He also served with the

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until 1853, and at the General Customs Board from 1847 to 1863. He worked as the "scenic curator" at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...

for a brief period from 1844 to 1845.

Selected writings

* ''Nord och söder : strödda anteckningar under resor emellan Avasaxa och Vesuven åren 1835-1839'', Two Volumes, Bagge, 1842-1843
Online
* ''Liberté. Egalité. Fraternité'': ett ord "mellan drabbningarne"'', 1867, P.B Eklund
Online
* ''Teaterbilder från fordom'', published posthumously, Dagligt Allehanda,

Sources

*

from the ''

Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon'' () is a compact Sweden, Swedish dictionary of biography first published in 1873–1876 by the physician and antiquarian Herman Hofberg (1823–1883). The second, updated edition was published in 1906, under th ...

'' at

Project Runeberg Project Runeberg () is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded by Lars Aronsson and ...

Obituary
by Harald Wieselgren, in ''Ur vår samtid'' at Project Runeberg {{DEFAULTSORT:Arfwidsson, Nils 1802 births 1880 deaths Swedish journalists Swedish editors Swedish art critics Swedish literary critics Swedish theatre critics Writers from Gothenburg