Born: 21 August 1816, Sweden
Died: 14 September 1903
Country most active: Sweden
Also known as: Johanna Apollonia Berglind
Orphaned at a young age, Johanna “Jeanette” Berglind became a ward of a relative, Per Aron Borg, when she was 10. Borg was a pioneer in Swedish deaf education and founded Manillaskolan originally Allmänna institutet för Blinda och Döfstumma, “Public Institute of the Blind and Deaf”) in Stockholm.
Berglind went on to teach at the school from 1834 to 1840, but took on other jobs to support herself after Borg’s 1839 death. In 1860, she founded Tysta Skolan, a school for deaf/mute children, with minimal resources. Struggling to cover costs, she was fortunate when, in 1862, writer and activist Fredrika Bremer lauded her work in the press, rallying support and gaining recognition for Berglind’s institute.
It was granted royal protection and governmental backing, enabling Berglind to secure a proper school building in 1866 and get out of debt by 1872. The need was clear: in 1863 alone, she had had to turn away 75 students due to cost constraints. Johanna Berglind’s dedication left an indelible mark on deaf education in Sweden.
Berglind was awarded the gold royal medal För medborgerlig förtjänst (In Service of the State) and a state pension from the state, and was made honorary chairperson in the Stockholm Deaf and Mute Society