HAGBOM, Hanna

Hanna Hagbom, born 1874, died 2 March 1953, was a Finnish elementary school teacher and composer. Her life was occupied by cultural and social aspirations typical of her time and background: public education, patriotism and devoted (Finnish) Swedishness. She was active in the Swedish People's Party, the Friends of Swedish Cultivation, the Friends of the Swedish Elementary School, the Lotta Svärd organization and song festivals. None of this would have made Hanna Hagbom remembered; her fame rests solely on the fact that around 1905 she set to music one of the most popular ballads in the Nordic countries, Båklandets varkkarka Maja with lyrics by Arvid Mörne.