Swedish Historical Society in Finland

The Swedish Historical Society in Finland (Historiska föreningen) is a Swedish-language association for historians, history students, and the history-interested public in Finland. Founded in 1914 as Svenska Studenters Historiska Förening, it was initially aimed at students and researchers in history at the University of Helsinki, with the purpose of promoting historical research in Swedish and providing a counterweight to the Fennoman view of history cultivated in Finnish-language historical research at the time. In 1929 the society changed its name to Historiska föreningen and broadened its target audience to include the history-interested public. The society is based in Helsinki and has around 260 members. It organizes lecture evenings, seminars, trips, and other history programs. It is the responsible publisher of Historisk Tidskrift för Finland, Finland's only scholarly historical journal in Swedish, which members receive as a membership benefit. The society is a member of the Delegation of Scientific Societies and the Federation for Science Publishing in Finland. It awards two prizes: the Gösta Mickwitz Prize (4000 euros), awarded since 2001 to a historian who has notably contributed to maintaining a lively interest in history and historical research, and the Gunnar Mickwitz Prize (1000 euros), awarded annually for a meritorious master's thesis at the Swedish chair of history at the University of Helsinki. The society maintains a Facebook page with 642 likes. Its current chair, as of the latest available information, is Julia Dahlberg, who has served since 2015.

The Swedish Historical Society in Finland was founded in 1914 under the name Svenska Studenters Historiska Förening (Swedish Students' Historical Society). It was initially intended primarily for students and researchers in history at the University of Helsinki. The aim was to promote historical research in Swedish and to form a counterweight to the Fennoman view of history cultivated in Finnish-language historical research at the time. However, no explicit language struggle lay behind its founding. Among the initiators were Kurt Antell, then serving at the National Archives and later head of the Swedish chancery of the Parliament, student Vilhelm Ramsay, and historian P.O. von Törne, who also became the society's first chairman. In 1929, the society changed its name to Historiska föreningen and expanded its target audience to include the history-interested public. The society has been based in Helsinki and has published Historisk Tidskrift för Finland, Finland's only scholarly historical journal in Swedish. It is a member of the Delegation of Scientific Societies and the Federation for Science Publishing in Finland. The society awards two prizes: the Gösta Mickwitz Prize (4000 euros), awarded since 2001, and the Gunnar Mickwitz Prize (1000 euros), awarded annually for a meritorious master's thesis at the Swedish chair of history at the University of Helsinki. The society has around 260 members and organizes lecture evenings, seminars, trips, and other history programs. Its chairs have included P.O. von Törne (1914–1919), Gabriel Nikander (1919–1920), Magnus Gottfrid Schybergson (1920–1923), Hjalmar Crohns (1923–1926), Bruno Lesch (1926–1937, 1945), Eric Anthoni (1937–1943, 1949–1965), Oscar Nikula (1943–1945), Lolo Krusius-Ahrenberg (1946), Berndt Federley (1946–1949), Jarl Gallén (1965–1976), Johan Chydenius (1976–1982), Jerker A. Eriksson (1982–1986), Dag Lindberg (1987–1992), Henry Rask (1993–2002), Derek Fewster (2003–2010), Peter Stadius (2011–2014), and Julia Dahlberg (2015–).

• 2001

  Gösta Mickwitz Prize established

• 1929

  Renamed Historiska föreningen and opened to the public

• 1914

  Founded as Svenska Studenters Historiska Förening

A scholarly society and publisher for Swedish-speaking historians and history enthusiasts in Finland.

• Historisk Tidskrift för Finland

1. 1Historiska föreningenhistoriskaforeningen.fi
2. 2Historiska föreningensv.wikipedia.org
3. 3Swedish Historical Society in Finlandwikidata.org