Erik Gustaf Geijer

Erik Gustaf Geijer
Portrait by Carl Wilhelm Nordgren (1804–1857)
Born	(1783-01-12)12 January 1783 Ransäter, Värmland
Died	23 April 1847(1847-04-23) (aged 64)
Academic work

Erik Gustaf Geijer (12 January 1783 – 23 April 1847) was a Swedish writer, historian, poet, philosopher, and composer. His writings served to promote Swedish National Romanticism. He also was an influential advocate of Liberalism.

Geijer was born at Geijersgården, his family's estate in Ransäter, Värmland. He was educated at the gymnasium of Karlstad, and then attended the University of Uppsala, where he earned his master's degree in 1806. In 1803 he had competed successfully for an historical prize offered by the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm. In 1809, he traveled in England. The year following, he became a lecturer in history at Uppsala, and in 1815 assistant to Eric Michael Fant. Succeeding Fant, Geijer was a professor of history from 1817 at Uppsala University where a statue now commemorates him. He was rector of Uppsala University during the years 1822, 1830, 1836 and 1843-1844. As a representative of the university, he was a member of the Church of Sweden clergy: 1828-30 and 1840-41. He was a member of the Swedish Academy (on seat 14) from 1824. In 1835, he became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Geijer was also a founding member of the Geatish Society (Swedish: Götiska förbundet). In the first issue of its periodical, Iduna, appeared Geijer's most famous poem The Viking (Swedish: Vikingen), which described the Viking as the heroic Norseman that many of us might imagine today and was a turning-point in the rehabilitation of Norse culture among the Swedish people. Geijer also collaborated with Arvid August Afzelius, in the three volume collection of Swedish folk-songs, Svenska folk-visor från forntiden (Stockholm, 1814–1816).