Sweden

Famous Swedish People: Swedish Artists, Scientists, Leaders, Musicians, Politicians and Athletes

Sweden, a Nordic monarchy near Norway, Denmark and Finland, is a highly industrialized country. The peaceful nation is home to people who are very private and reserved on the outside but are very warm and friendly once they’ve gotten to know you. Sweden is home to a host of notable personalities who have made their mark in the international arena in the fields of science, music, film, literature, politics, medicine and sports. These groups and individuals standout because of the splendid and exemplary works they performed. Some of them have earned the highest international honor, emulating their fellow compatriot, Alfred Nobel, whose name had been given to the Nobel Prize. Read about some of the notable Swedes that made their country proud.

:: List of Famous People from Sweden ::

Greta Garbo
Her real name was Greta Lovisa Gustafsson and she was born on September 18, 1905 in Stockholm. She started her film career in 1924 and became an international star in silent and classic films. She made 27 movies during her career and had been nominated in the Oscars as best actress four times for the films Anna Christie, Romance, Camille and Ninotchka. She never won but her outstanding portrayals earned her a special Academy Award. She had been a star in several silent films such as The Torrent in 1926 and Love in 1927 before movie audiences finally heard her sultry voice in the 1930 film, Anna Christie. She retired in 1941 and lived a private life until her demise at the age of 94 in 1990.

August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a native of Stockholm, where he was born on January 22, 1849. His short stories and novels were injected with psychology and naturalism. He was also a playwright who had written 70 plays. His works provided inspiration for other writers like Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams and Harold Pinter. Some of his notable works include plays such as Master Olof he created in 1872, Getting Married in 1884, The Father in 1887, Gustav Adolf in 1900. In 1907 he wrote After the Fire, The Pelican, The Spook Sonata and The Thunderstorm. He lost his mother when he was thirteen years old. He said that his mother resented his intelligence. Aside from being an author, he was also a painter, an alchemist, a photographer, theosophist, telegrapher and a polymath.

Ingrid Bergman
Swedish film actress Ingrid Bergman was born in Stockholm on August 29, 1915. The stunningly beautiful actress started her career in American films when she starred in the 1939 film, Intermezzo: A Love Story. Earlier, her first foray into acting came through a competition she entered at the Royal Dramatic Theater in her home city when she was seventeen. She gained fame in her own country with films like Munkbroggreven and Swedenheilms in 1935 and Intermezzo in 1936. Ingrid Bergman starred in classic films from 1941 to 1974, such as Rage in Heaven, Casablanca, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Bells of St. Mary’s, Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock), Notorious, Joan of Arc, Gaslight, Anastasia and The Murder on the Orient Express. She won the Best Actress Award in the Oscars for Gaslight and Anastasia, and an Academy award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Murder on the Orient Express. Her last movie was Autumn Sonata, which was done in 1978. She starred in a TV mini-series entitled A Woman Called Golda chronicling the life of the late Prime Minister Golda Meir of Israel.

She was already sick during the filming of the TV series and departed four months after its completion. She was awarded her second Emmy Award for Best Actress posthumously for her performance in the series. Her daughter, Pia Lindström received the award on her behalf.

Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren was a prolific writer of children’s books during her time. She was in Stockholm on November 14, 1907 but grew up in Näs, Småland. She was influential in spreading the interest in children’s literature not only in her home country but throughout Scandinavia as well. Most of her books were based on her childhood memories, her family and the landscape in the area where she grew up. Lindgren’s children’s books have sold about 145 million copies and she ranked 18th in the world as the most translated author. Some of her best-known book series are Six Bullerby Children, Karlsson-on-the-Roof and Pippi Longstocking. The latter was set in Gotland and was actually a story she invented to amuse her daughter when the latter got bed-ridden with illness. Lindgren was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1958 and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1973, aside from the numerous other awards she had received. After her death in 2002, the Swedish government established the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children’s and youth literature that carries the largest monetary award in the world. The award is worth five million Swedish krona, which is roughly about US$750,000. The collection of her original manuscripts is kept at the Royal Library or Kungliga Biblioteket in Stockholm. In 2005 the collection was declared as a World Heritage by UNESCO.

Selma Lagerlöf
Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf was a Swedish author born on November 20, 1858 at Mårbacka, Värmland, which is located in western Sweden. Her original job was as a teacher and during her teaching days she was able to polish her skills in storytelling. She started her first novel entitled Gosta Berling’s Saga in 1891 while she was still a teacher. One of her famous books was about geography called The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, which she wrote in 1906. Her publications have been translated into 40 languages. These are still republished to this day. Lagerlöf was the first Swede and the first female author to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1909. In 1895, she received the honor of being the first woman appointed to the Swedish Academy.

Björn Rune Borg
Björn Borg was once the number one tennis player in the world. He was born on June 6, 1956 in Södertälje, Stockholm. He was already playing in the professional tennis circuit when he was 14 years old and became a member of the 1972 Swedish Davis Cup team at age fifteen. He won his debut singles rubber match at that time. In that same year Borg won his first junior Wimbledon title. Throughout his career he amassed 101 career titles that include six French Open titles, five Wimbledon titles and was a finalist in the US Open for four seasons. He created a legend for remaining cool under pressure, earning him the nickname Ice-Man or Ice-Borg. Borg, a baseliner who prefers grass as his favorite playing surface has been credited in the development of the baseline game that is so popular with the tennis players of today.

Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel, the inventor of the dynamite, was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833. He was an innovator, engineer and chemist. He also manufactured armaments. He was the original owner of Bofors, originally related to the iron and steel industry in Sweden. Today, through an exchange of ownership, the company is now split into two major companies, Saab Bofors Dynamics and BAE Systems Bofors. Nobel held 350 different patents, although the most famous one was that for dynamite. As a chemist, he experimented on the works of the torpedo, the use of nitroglycerine and different ways to produce explosive materials. He later used his own funds to establish the Nobel Prize, leaving two million pound sterling in his will to provide for Nobel Prizes in five disciplines – Literature, Chemistry, Physics, Medicine and Peace endeavors.

Carl Larsson
Carl Larsson, an interior designer and painter was born on May 28, 1853 in Stockholm. He came from a very poor family wherein his mother was the principal breadwinner. It seemed that he inherited his artistic talent from his maternal grandfather. While in school he was encouraged by his teacher to apply to the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts at the age of thirteen. He worked as a book illustrator, a caricaturist and a graphic artist while still in school. He moved to Paris in 1877 but did not join the Impressionist movement. He met his wife while he was in Paris and started using watercolor for most of his paintings rather than oil, and most of his watercolor subjects were their eight children.

He gained popularity when color reproduction was introduced and the books he had illustrated and wrote were reproduced. One of his last large paintings, measuring 20 feet by 46 feet or 6 meters by 14 meters, entitled Midwinter Sacrifice or Midvinterblot is on display at the Swedish National Museum of Fine Arts.

Svante Arrhenius
Swedish scientist, chemist and physicist Svante August Arrhenius was a Nobel Prize recipient for chemistry in 1903. He is recognized as one of the founders of physical chemistry, which is the study of macroscopic, subatomic, atomic and particulate phenomena in chemical systems. He was born at Vik Castle in Sweden on February 19, 1859. He got fascinated with numbers while watching his father work on his account books and he became a prodigy in arithmetic. At age eight he entered school, starting his schooling on the fifth grade and quickly excelling in mathematics and physics and graduating as the youngest and ablest student. He became involved in setting up the Nobel Prizes and the Nobel Institutes. He was likewise a member of the Nobel Committee on Physics and Chemistry and was appointed as the rector of the Nobel Institute for Physical Research in 1905.

Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman is recognized as one of the most influential and accomplished film directors of all time. The Swedish writer, director and producer was born on July 14, 1918 in Uppsala. Throughout his career he directed 170 plays and about 60 films and documentaries for television and cinematic release. Most of his works were also written by him. He worked with noted film personalities such as Max von Sydow, Liv Ullman, Gunnar Björnstrand, Harriet Andersson, Erland Josephson and Bibi Andersson. His country’s landscape was his favorite set while his cinematic subjects range from death, faith, betrayal, insanity and illness. Some of his films include Smiles of a Summer Night, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Persona, The Virgin Spring, Autumn Sonata and Saraband.

Anders Celsius
Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius was born on November 27, 1701 in Uppsala. He is most noted for his proposal regarding the Celsius temperature scale that bears his name, which he put forward in 1742. His father Nils Celsius was an astronomy professor while his grandfather was Magnus Celsius, a mathematician. Anders also became a professor of astronomy like his father and taught at the Uppsala University. He published several scientific papers throughout his career and was the first to observe the connection between the changes in the earth’s magnetic field and the aurora borealis. He joined several travels and expeditions to measure an arc of the meridian close to the equator and the pole. He achieved many firsts in his lifetime. He was the first to record the intensity of starlight by using colored glass plates. At the same time he carefully recorded his observations of various astronomical objects, star magnitudes and eclipses. He was also the first to perform careful experiments and publish the results for an international temperature scale, which later carried his name. Likewise, he was one of the first to observe and make note of the continuous rising of Scandinavia after the last ice age. Celcius was also credited for proposing the name of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1739.

Carl von Linné
Carl Nilsson Linnæus, Swedish physician, zoologist and botanist was the father of modern taxonomy, modern ecology and binomial nomenclature. He was born in Småland on May 23, 1707. He was a professor of botany at Uppsala University when he was sent on journeys all over Sweden to look for and classify the country’s flora and fauna, leading to the publication of several volumes of his scientific observations and records. He was hailed by Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe as the greatest man on earth. He was even called the Prince of Botany. He published several books, including Critica Botanica, Genera Plantarum, Flora Lapponica, Systema Naturae, Hortus Cliffortianus, Flora Suecica, Fauna Suecica, Philosophia Botanica and Species Plantarum.

Stieg Larsson
Karl Stig-Erland “Stieg” Larsson was the author of the Millennium series of crime stories. He was born on August 15, 1954 in Skelleftehamm. He was a Swedish journalist and writer whose series of crime novels, collectively called the Millennium series was published posthumously. This series has sold 65 million copies worldwide in 2011. The last part of the series, entitled The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest was the most sold book in the U.S. in 2010.

Jenny Lind
Johanna Maria Lind, called the Swedish Nightingale, was an operatic singer. She was born in central Stockholm on October 6, 1820. Lind was one of the highly regarded opera singers of the 19th century and was in great demand in Europe as well as in Sweden. She was nine years old when a maid for the principal dancer of the Royal Swedish Opera, Mademoiselle Lundberg, heard her sing. Mademoiselle Lundberg arranged for her audition and admission into the Royal Dramatic Theater acting school where she had singing lessons with Karl Magnus Craelius. By age ten, Lind was already singing on stage and by age 20 she was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. She was also the court singer for the King of Norway and Sweden. Her performance in Der Freischütz in 1838 made her famous.

Her untrained singing technique and overuse caused her to damage her voice seriously but was saved and taught proper vocal technique by singing teacher Manuel Garcia while she was in Paris from 1841 until 1843. She auditioned for the Paris Opéra. Unfortunately she was rejected and this rebuff seemed to be the reason why she refused invitations by the said institution when she became internationally famous. Hans Christian Andersen fell in love with her and inspired three of his fairy tales – The Nightingale, The Angel and Beneath the Pillar. She was a protégée of German composer, conductor and pianist Felix Mendelssohn. She retired from the opera at the age of 29. By 1850 however, she was invited by P. T. Barnum and toured the United States, giving 93 large-scale concerts. She later toured with her own company.

Raoul Wallenberg
Architect, diplomat, humanitarian and businessman were the hats worn by Raoul Wallenberg, who was born on August 4, 1912 in the municipality of Lidingö. He became more famous in 1945 when he sheltered nearly one hundred thousand Jews in Hungary, which was occupied by the Nazis at that time. He was then working as a special envoy in Budapest. He provided shelter to Hungarian Jews in buildings that were assigned as Swedish territory and issued protective passports to them. His humanitarian feats earned him accolades from several countries and became an honorary citizen of Hungary, Israel, Canada and the United States, where one of the persons he saved, Congressman Tom Santos sponsored the bill to make him an honorary citizen of the U.S. in 1981. He was given the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal on July 26, 2012 for his exemplary and heroic deeds during the Holocaust.

Dag Hammarsköld
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld, born in Jönköping on July 29, 1905 served as the second Secretary General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his untimely death from a plane crash while on his way to peace negotiations in New Rhodesia, now called Zambia on September 1961. His Nobel Peace Prize was given posthumously. He succeeded Trygve Lie of Norway who resigned from his position as UN Secretary General in 1953. Hammarskjöld established a secretariat with 4,000 administrators, defined their duties and created a meditation room at the UN Headquarters; negotiated with China in 1955 for the release of 15 U.S. pilots who rendered service in the Korean War and the creation of the UN Emergency Force. He was also involved in the intervention of the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the participation of the Holy See in the United Nations. He was considered as the “greatest man of our century” by U.S. President John F. Kennedy. He was the benchmark of the succeeding UN Secretary Generals, according to the Financial Times report published in 2011.

Isaac Hirsche Grünewald
Expressionist painter Isaac Hirsche Grünewald was born on September 2, 1889 in Stockholm. He studied under Henri Matisse when he went to Paris when he was 19 years old. It was in Paris where he met his wife, Sigrid Hjertén, a Fauvist painter. They were part of a group of Scandinavian artists who called themselves The Young Ones or De Unga. According to historians Grünewald and his wife were responsible for the introduction of modernism to Sweden where the husband and wife team exhibited their works together. They also exhibited abroad. He created stage designs for the Royal Swedish Opera and the Royal Dramatic Theater to supplement his income. The walls and ceilings of an auditorium of the Stockholm Concert Hall were decorated by Grünewald. He was honored for his work by naming the hall after him. The meeting room of the Matchstick Palace, the headquarters of Svenska Tändsticks AB or Swedish Match had paintings done by Grünewald. The Rörstrand Porcelain Factory where he worked during WWII produces vases in different shapes that carry Grünewald artworks.

Ingvar Kamprad
Ingvar Feodor Kamprad is a Swedish entrepreneur and the founder of global furniture and accessories manufacturer, IKEA. Born on March 30, 1926 in Älmhult, Kamprad is one of the richest men in the world. IKEA has more than 200 stores in 31 countries, providing employment to more than 75,000 people. The stores generate about $12 billion a year. IKEA is a combination of Ingvar’s initials plus the first letters of Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd where he grew up. Known for being very frugal, Kamprad started his business buying and selling matchsticks and invested his profits on other items, including school supplies, fish, seeds and Christmas decorations. He founded IKEA using the reward money his father gave him for doing well in school. For a time his store carried several different items, including smaller personal accessories but made a hit with his locally manufactured by very well made furniture. The furniture pieces that IKEA carries are all manufactured for flat packaging to save on shipment costs. It also helps lower the probability of damage to the items during shipment as well as give their customers the option to bring home the items immediately and assemble them on their own. The contemporary look of the stores, the innovative furniture designs and the very competitive price give IKEA the edge over their competitors. To this day IKEA remains a one of the very successful privately owned companies. It continues to be managed by members of his family.

Johan Helmich Roman
Considered the father of Swedish music, Johan Roman was a Baroque composer who was born on October 26, 1694. He hailed from Stockholm. He was a member of the Royal Swedish Chapel and was the oboist and violinist of the chapel when he was 17 years of age. He was allowed by the King to travel to London to study music in 1715 under the tutelage of Johann Christoph Pepusch. It was in London where he met composer that influenced him greatly such as George Frideric Handel, Giovanni Battista Bononcini and Francesco Geminiani. He was appointed as the deputy master of the Royal Chapel when he returned from London and in 1727 became the Swedish Royal Orchestra’s Chief Master. One of his finest works was Drottningholmsmusique, which he composed for the wedding of Sweden’s Crown Prince Adolf Frederich to Prussia’s Louisa Ulrika.

Arvid Carlsson
Swedish scientist Arvid Carlsson received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2000 for his work on dopamine, a neurotransmitter and its effects in Parkinson disease, a brain disorder characterized by difficulty in coordination, movement and walking as well as shaking of body parts. Carlsson was born in Uppsala on January 25, 1923.

ABBA
One of the most successful group that had been adored by millions of listeners around the world is Swedish group ABBA, which was formed in 1972. Members include Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus (Fältskog’s husband), Anni-Frid Lyngstad and her husband Benny Andersson. Their songs topped the international charts from 1972 up to 1982. They won the Eurovision top prize in 1974, the first time victory for Sweden. The group sold 370 million records around the world and their albums continue to sell to this day. They are one of the most successful groups from a non-English speaking country to have continued commercial success in English-speaking countries like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and the United States. They also recorded a Spanish version of some of their hit songs. Some of their hits include Chiquitita, Fernando, Dancing Queen, Gimme Gimme Gimme!, Knowing Me, Knowing You, I Have a Dream, Mamma Mia, Voulez-Vous, and Nina Pretty Ballerina.

Europe
Europe is a very successful heavy metal/hard rock band that originated from the Upplands Väsby in Sweden. The group started their career in 1979, using the name Force as their band name when they started and changing it to Europe two years later. Original members of the group are Joey Tempest, real name Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson (vocalist), John Norum (guitarist), Peter Olsson (bassist), and Tony Reno, real name Tony Niemistö (drummer). Peter Olsson was replaced by John Levén as bassist while drummer Tony Reno was replaced by Ian Haugland. Their international success came during their third album with the single The Final Countdown, followed by Carrie and Rock the Night. The group, which is still active, had previously released nine studio albums. They had 29 singles, one extended play or EP, three live albums, nine video albums and 19 music videos. One of the most successful rock acts during the 1980s, Europe sold 20 million albums globally and had been in the Billboard 200 chart.

Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson, who goes by his nickname Svennis, was a former football manager that won 17 major football trophies when he managed football league clubs in Sweden, Italy and Portugal from 1979 until 2000. He also managed national teams in Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire and England. Eriksson was born in Sunne, Sweden on February 5, 1948. His career as a football player was unremarkable and he retired as a player in 1975 due to a knee injury. His move to being manager was propitious as he gained success in the field. He first joined local Swedish clubs like Degerfors IF then IFK Göteborg. He also had managerial stints in Benfica, Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lazio. He later managed England’s national team, taking them to the FIFA World Cup in 1992, UEFA Euro 2004 and the qualifying rounds and finals of the FIFA World Cup in 2006. He later transferred to Manchester City. He was last linked to English club Leicester City in 2011.

References
http://www.europe-cities.com/en/658/sweden/history/famous-people/
http://www.biography.com/people/groups/swede-or-swedish/all
http://www.rankopedia.com/Most-famous-person-from-Sweden/Step1/12044/.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Swedish_people
http://www.deconet.com/decopedia/designer/1444/Isaac_Gr%C3%BCnewald