Anna Åkerhjelm

Anna Åkerhjelm, (born in Nyköping, Sweden sometime before 1647, died in Germany 1693), was a Swedish writer and traveller and the first woman in Sweden to have been ennobled for her own actions (1691).

Biography

Born the child of the priest Mangus Jonae Agriconius, she was in 1671 employed at the court of Princess Maria Eufrosyne of Pfalz Zweibrücken, the aunt of king Charles XI of Sweden, where she became known for her great learning and her interest in science. She became the companion of the noblewoman Charlotta De la Gardie, who was married to the military officer Otto Wilhelm Königsmarck in 1682 and followed him on his military services around Europe.

In 1686-1689, Königsmarck served in the army of Venice during the Morean War against the Ottoman Empire in Greece, where the two women accompanied him. Contemporary accounts describe how they spent their time in scientific investigations during their stay and at the ruins of Acropolis in Athens. After the Parthenon was hit by canons in 1687, Anna found in the ruins an Arabic manuscript, which she donated to the Uppsala university when she returned to Sweden. She also wrote a description of her stay and travels in Greece. In 1691, she was ennobled, the first woman ennobled for her own actions.

References

* http://runeberg.org/sqvinnor/0448.html