Selma Jacobson Papers

Selma Jacobson was born October 10, 1906, in Joliet, Illinois. The daughter of a Lutheran minister and a school teacher, Selma became a school teacher in 1926 after graduating from Chicago Normal College with a focus on Home Economics. She earned her Master’s Degree from Northwestern University in 1943, then taught general education, Home Economics, and the Manual Arts in the Chicago Public Schools system. She also served six years with the Bureau of Curriculum, where she prepared instructional material for use in practical arts courses.

In 1950, Selma took a sabbatical year in Sweden to study Swedish handcrafts, language, and culture. This resulted her in staying an additional two years to teach traditional crafts at Mariekällskolan, an elementary school in Södertälje. She also developed comparative education study programs for both American and Swedish teachers, which consisted of study group tours that visited five Scandinavian countries and lasted from three to six weeks. In 1963, she also helped organize a three-week course for foreign teachers that was held at North Park University.

Upon her return to Chicago, Selma was regularly invited to exhibits and lectures, where she shared her experiences in Sweden through home movies and exhibits, and gave crafts demonstrations. The Vasa Order named her Swedish-American of the Year in 1970. She was also asked by Mayor Richard J. Daley to prepare a history of the Swedish in Chicago for a holiday folk fair. In 1971, he named her one of the Chicagoland 100.

As an avid collector of materials pertaining to Chicago’s Swedish pioneers, Selma strived to ensure these materials were preserved and made available to researchers. In 1968, she led the Swedish American Historical Society to establish its archives. She was also an advocate for the creation of a Swedish-American museum, which was established in 1996 with the late Kurt Mathiasson. That same year, she also played a major role in rededicating a statue of Carl von Linne, a Swedish botanist from the 18^th century, at its current location on the Midway in Hyde Park.

Known as the grand dame of Chicago’s Swedish American community, Selma Jacobson passed away of natural causes at the age of 94 in December 2000.