Maria Ramstedt

Born Maria Häggblom in Saint Petersburg on December 12, 1852, she later became known as Maria Ramstedt and also wrote under the pen name Martti Humu. She was a Finnish teacher, journalist, writer, and theosophist, and sources describe her as one of Finland’s first professional women journalists.

After training as a teacher and working in education, she moved into journalism and supported herself and her family with her pen. In addition to editorial work, she translated books and wrote fiction of her own. Project Gutenberg listings for her work show both short stories and one-act plays, including Junalla kulkiessa, Parittomat, and Valo tulee!, suggesting a writer comfortable in more than one form.

She died in Helsinki on August 10, 1915. What stands out about her today is the breadth of her working life: she wrote not only as a literary author, but also as a journalist and translator at a time when that path was still rare for women in Finland.