Tobbukot
Þorbjörg Sveinsdóttir, midwife (1827-1903)
(English Side:)
In 1858 a small half-stone house or steinbaer was built here. Before long it was purchased by midwife Þorbjörg Sveinsdóttir. The house was commonly called Tobbukot, a diminutive derived from "Þorbjörg's cottage.” In 1896 Þorbjörg built a two-floored wooden house on the same plot, where she lived until her death in 1903. Skólavörðustígur 11 was the latter-day address of the houses, which were demolished in 1968 to be replaced by a large modern building.
Þorbjörg Sveinsdóttir was born in modest circumstances in 1827, daughter of a country clergyman at Sandfell in Öræfi, southeast Iceland. She studied midwifery at Copenhagen's maternity hospital, graduating in 1856; this one-year course was the only training programme available to Icelandic women at that time. Þorbjörg worked as a midwife in Reykjavík, where she held the post of official midwife from 1864 until her retirement in 1902. One of her last deliveries was that of a baby boy in a little house at Laugavegur 32: when Halldór Guðjónsson grew up he would take the pen-name Laxness, and ultimately win the Nobel prize
for literature.In 1846 the population of Reykjavík was almost 1500, but by the end of the century it had increased to 7000. Þorbjörg delivered babies all over Reykjavík and undoubtedly knew the inhabitants better than anyone else. She was loved and admired by the mothers of Reykjavík. She was famous as a woman of substance, who spoke at political meetings, undeterred by her lack of a right to vote.
Þorbjörg Sveinsdóttir was among the founders of the Icelandic Women's Association, Hið íslenska kvenfélag, in 1894. It was the first women's association in Iceland to include women's rights in its manifesto. In 1895 its membership included 485 women from Reykjavik, about one quarter of the town's women.
Þorbjörg brought up her niece Ólafía Jóhannsdóttir (1863-1924), who also became a well-known activist for women's rights. She worked to promote temperance, was active in Iceland's YMCA and YWCA, and co-founded a women's temperance society, Hvítabandið, in Reykjavík in 1895, sitting on its first board. Ólafía worked abroad after 1903, mainly in Oslo, where she founded a refuge for those whom society had rejected.
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(Icelandic Side:)
Þorbjörg Sveinsdöttir fæddist að Sandfelli í Öræfum árið 1827, dóttir fátækra prestshjóna. Hún varð ljósmóðir frá Fæðingarstofnun Kaupmannahafnar árið 1856, en það var eina námið sem stóð íslenskum konum til boða og það tók aðeins eitt ár. Þorbjörg stundaði ljósmóðurstörf í Reykjavík þar sem hún var embættisljösmóðir frá árinu 1864 þar til hún lét af störfum árið 1902. Eitt síðasta ljósmóðurverk hennar var að taka á móti sveinbarni í steinbæ að Laugavegi 32 sem gefið var nafnið Halldör og tók sér siðar ættarnafnið Laxness. Hann hlaut siðar bókmenntaverðlaun Nóbels.
Arið 1856 voru íbúar Reykjavikur tæplega 1.500 en um aldamótin 1900 hafði þeim fjölgað í sjö þúsund. Þorbjörg fór um allt þorpið til að taka á möti börnum og þekkti íbúana eflaust betur en nokkur annar. Hún var elskuð og dáð af sængurkonum bæjarins. Hún var nafnkunnur skörungur og tók til máls á stjórnmálafundum þótt ekki hefði hún atkvæðisrétt.
Þorbjörg Sveinsdóttir var einn stofnenda Hins íslenska kvenfélags árið 1894. Það var fyrsta kvenfélag á íslandi sem hafði kvenréttindi á stefnuskrá sinni. Árið 1895 höfðu 485 reykvískar konur gengið í það, sem var um fjórðungur allra kvenna í bænum.
Hjá Þorbjörgu ólst upp systurdóttir hennar, Ólafía Jóhannsdóttir
Erected by Reykjavík City Museum.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Civil Rights • Science & Medicine • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1858.
Location. 64° 8.713′ N, 21° 55.876′ W. Marker is in Reykjavík, Capital Region (Höfuðborgarsvæðið), in Reykjavíkurborg. It is in Downtown. Marker is at the intersection of Skólavörðustígur and Grettisgata on Skólavörðustígur. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Skólavörðustígur 11, Reykjavík, Capital Region 101, Iceland. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Skólavörðustígur 11 (here, next to this marker); Skólavörðustígur 13 (within shouting distance of this marker); Laugavegur 15 (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Laugavegur (about 180 meters away); Torfhildur Hólm (about 180 meters away); Bankastræti 10 (about 180 meters away); Founding of the Reykjavik Water Utility / Uphaf vatnsveitu (about 180 meters away); Þingholtsstræti 13 (about 180 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Reykjavík.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 30, 2018. It was originally submitted on August 30, 2018, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 238 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 30, 2018, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.