Nancy Edberg

Nancy Fredrika Augusta Edberg (12 November 1832 – 11 December 1892 in Stockholm) was a Swedish swimmer, swimming instructor and bath house manager director, the first Swedish woman to work in these fields. Edberg was a pioneer in making the art of swimming and ice skating acceptable as activities for women in Sweden.

Early life Nancy Edberg was born on 12 November 1832 in Ytterjärna, Södermanland, to Johanna Ulrica Edberg and Theodor Berg, a ticket-collector. She was taught to swim by her father. At this point, there was little physical education for women, one of few female role models being Gustafva Lindskog, who became the first Swedish instructor in physical education in 1818.

Career Nancy Edberg was employed as a swimming instructor at the newly founded bath house for women in Stockholm in 1847. This was the first bath house open to women in the country: first located at Riddarhuset, it was moved to Kastellholmen the following year. In 1851, she was made swimming master at Åbomska simskolan (Åbom Swimming School), and from 1853, she held her own swimming lessons at Djurgården. Her ideas met a strong degree of push back with comments including “does mademoiselle intend to drown people?”.

In 1865, she introduced swimming for women in Oslo in Norway, and then travelled to Saint Petersburg in Russia on a scholarship and recommendation from the royal couple to the Russian Emperor and Empress. Edberg introduced swimming for women in Copenhagen, Trondhjem and a multitude of Swedish cities "from Ystad to Östersund".

Personal life She married the Danish lithographer Carl Andrésen (d. 1873) in 1867. Edberg was given a front page biography as a tribute for her pioneer work at the feminist publication Idun in 1890.

Nancy Edberg died age 60 in Stockholm on 11 December 1892.