Born: 9 August 1914, Finland
Died: 27 June 2001
Country most active: Finland
Also known as: NA
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Tove Marika Jansson was a Finnish author, artist, and illustrator. She studied art in Stockholm, Helsinki, and Paris from 1930 to 1938. In 1943, she had her first art exhibition, wrote short stories, and created illustrations for book covers, advertisements, and postcards.
Jansson’s most famous works are the children’s novels in the Moomin series, which began with “The Moomins and the Great Flood” in 1945. The books “Comet in Moominland” (1946) and “Finn Family Moomintroll” (1948) were also highly successful. In recognition of her work, she was honored with the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1966 and posthumously inducted into The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2016.
Besides her children’s books, Jansson wrote six novels, including “The Summer Book,” and five short story collections for adults. Her artistic and literary contributions have left a lasting impact on readers around the world.