Amandus Johnson
Encyclopedia
Amandus Johnson was an American historian, author and founding curator of the American Swedish Historical Museum
. He is most associated with his epic two volume history, The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638-1664 which was also published in Swedish as Den första svenska kolonien i Amerika (1923).
of Kalmar County
in the historic Swedish province of Småland
. He was three years old at the time his family came to Rice Lake, Minnesota. Johnson attended Gustavus Adolphus College
from which he graduated in 1904 with a baccalaureate degree in English literature. During 1904-1905, Johnson continued to study at the University of Colorado
where he took a master's degree. He won fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania
where he took his Ph.D. in 1908.
at the University of Pennsylvania
from 1910 to 1921. After serving as President of the Historical Section of the American Division of the Gothenburg Exhibition in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1921 Johnson accepted the post of Director of the African Educational Expedition to Angola
, during 1922-1924. In the years after the expedition, Johnson published a Mbundu
English
Portuguese
dictionary and a narrative about his travels.
Starting in 1926, Johnson was corresponding secretary of the Swedish American Tercentenary
Association which conducted an endowment campaign to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Swedish settlement in North America and to endow the American Swedish Historical Museum
. In 1938, Prince Bertil of Sweden dedicated the American Swedish Historical Museum
in a celebration which also included the dedication of Fort Christina
Park in Wilmington, Delaware
. Johnson was museum director and curator from 1928 until 1943. Johnson conducted extensive research both in the United States and in Europe into the Swedish American Colonial period. He wrote numerous books and spoke extensively regarding the subject. He continued to take an active interest in the activities of the American Swedish Historical Museum
and the Swedish Colonial Society throughout his life. In 1961, Amandus Johnson was selected by the two Swedish District lodges of the Vasa Order of America
to be Swedish-American of the Year.
.
American Swedish Historical Museum
The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Queen...
. He is most associated with his epic two volume history, The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638-1664 which was also published in Swedish as Den första svenska kolonien i Amerika (1923).
Background
Amandus Johnson was born in Långasjö, a small village now located in the municipality of EmmabodaEmmaboda
-Geography:Emmaboda is located in the middle of the Tri-City Region Växjö, Kalmar and Karlskrona. All three places are sixty kilometers from Emmaboda.-Culture:...
of Kalmar County
Kalmar County
Kalmar County is a county or län in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland....
in the historic Swedish province of Småland
Småland
' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...
. He was three years old at the time his family came to Rice Lake, Minnesota. Johnson attended Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. A coeducational, four-year, residential institution, it was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans. To this day the school is firmly...
from which he graduated in 1904 with a baccalaureate degree in English literature. During 1904-1905, Johnson continued to study at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
where he took a master's degree. He won fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
where he took his Ph.D. in 1908.
Career
In 1908, Johnson was one of the co-founders of the Swedish Colonial Society, whose members traced their ancestry to the pre Revolutionary War Swedish colonists. Johnson served as instructor and later assistant professor of Scandinavian LanguagesNorth Germanic languages
The North Germanic languages or Scandinavian languages, the languages of Scandinavians, make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages...
at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
from 1910 to 1921. After serving as President of the Historical Section of the American Division of the Gothenburg Exhibition in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1921 Johnson accepted the post of Director of the African Educational Expedition to Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, during 1922-1924. In the years after the expedition, Johnson published a Mbundu
Mbundu
The Northern Mbundu or Ambundu are a people living in Angola's North-West, North of the river Kwanza. The Ambundu speak Kimbundu, and mostly also the official language of the country, Portuguese...
English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
dictionary and a narrative about his travels.
Starting in 1926, Johnson was corresponding secretary of the Swedish American Tercentenary
Association which conducted an endowment campaign to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Swedish settlement in North America and to endow the American Swedish Historical Museum
American Swedish Historical Museum
The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Queen...
. In 1938, Prince Bertil of Sweden dedicated the American Swedish Historical Museum
American Swedish Historical Museum
The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Queen...
in a celebration which also included the dedication of Fort Christina
Fort Christina
Fort Christina was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony...
Park in Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
. Johnson was museum director and curator from 1928 until 1943. Johnson conducted extensive research both in the United States and in Europe into the Swedish American Colonial period. He wrote numerous books and spoke extensively regarding the subject. He continued to take an active interest in the activities of the American Swedish Historical Museum
American Swedish Historical Museum
The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Queen...
and the Swedish Colonial Society throughout his life. In 1961, Amandus Johnson was selected by the two Swedish District lodges of the Vasa Order of America
Vasa Order of America
Vasa Order of America is a Swedish-American fraternal, cultural and educational organization.-History:Vasa Order of America was founded in 1896 in New Haven, Connecticut at the height of Swedish immigration to the United States as a Swedish-American fraternal order. Vasa Order of America emerged...
to be Swedish-American of the Year.
Legacy
Dr. Johnson's inventory of work papers have been deposited at the Philadelphia based Balch Institute in 1975. The Swedish Colonial Society has established the Dr. Amandus Johnson Endowment Fund which provides yearly scholarships to students of Scandinavian studies at the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
.
Selected bibliography
- The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware Volume I: Their History and Relation to the Indians, Dutch and English, 1638-1664 (1911)
- The Swedes in America 1638-1900: Vol. I, The Swedes on the Delaware 1638-1664. (1914)
- Johan Classon Rising: The last governor of New Sweden (1915)
- The Indians and Their Culture as Described in Swedish and Dutch Records (1917)
- The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638-1664, Volume 2 (1927)
- Instruction For Johan Printz, Governor Of New Sweden, "The First Constitution or Supreme Law Of The States Of Pennsylvania And Delaware. (1930)
- Mbundu English-Portuguese dictionary: With grammar and syntax (1931)
- The Journal and Biography of Nicholas Collin 1746-1831 (1936)
- Swedish contributions to American freedom, 1776-1783: Including a sketch of the background of the Revolution, together with an account of the engagements (1953)
Other sources
- Benson, Adolph B.; Naboth Hedin Swedes in America, 1638-1938 (Swedish American Tercentenary Association. 1938)
External links
- American Swedish Historic Museum
- Originally deposited at the Balch Institute, the Amandus Johnson Papers, including correspondence, manuscripts, organizational records and research materials, are available for research use at the Historical Society of PennsylvaniaHistorical Society of PennsylvaniaThe Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historical society founded in 1824 and based in Philadelphia. The Society's building, designed by Addison Hutton and listed on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places, houses some 600,000 printed items and over 19 million manuscript and graphic items...
. - The Swedish Colonial Society