August Maximilian Myhrberg was born as Matts August Myhrberg on 24 July 1797 in Raahe, Finland, then part of Kingdom of Sweden. His father Anders Gustaf Myhrberg was a Swedish-born merchant and Captain in the Swedish Army who later became a customs official.[1][3] His mother Christina belonged to a Finnish bourgeois family from Oulu. The family spoke Finnish at home.[4] Following the Russian annexation of Finland in the aftermath of the Finnish War, the Myhrberg family moved to Karlshamn and later to Härnösand.[5] Having completed primary school in Raahe, Myhrberg was sent to Uppsala to continue his studies at a boarding school. In June 1815, he enrolled into the Uppsala University, where he cultivated his interest in history and Greek mythology.[2] In 1818, he became acquainted with visiting associate professor Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, frequenting opposition circles connected to him. In 1820, he abandoned his studies, to complete his military service. An admirer of Napoléon Bonaparte, Myhrberg aspired to participate in the revolutionary wave that swept Europe.[5]
In 1834, he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of the Redeemer by King Otto of Greece.[2] In 1836, he visited Thomas Gordon in Scotland. In 1840, he travelled to the Grand Duchy of Finland, visiting friends and relatives. In 1842, he decided to return to Sweden where he was suspected of being a radical revolutionary. Following an audience with King Charles XIV John he was allowed to settle in the country. The king was impressed by Myhrberg's military career, awarding him the title Knight of the Order of the Sword and the rank of major. He went on to serve in the militia protecting the Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy until 1848 when he returned to Sweden. He served as an advisor for King Oscar I regarding Finnish matters, warning him against intervening in the Crimean War. During the course of the January Uprising, Myhrberg moved to Paris where he socialized with Polish political immigrants.[5] He spent his final years in Stockholm where he died on 31 March 1867; upon his death he was given a state funeral, with full military honours at the Johannes Church graveyard despite never holding office in Sweden.[5][2]
Myhrberg was greatly admired in Sweden's liberal and radical political circles. His adventures became the subject of numerous often conflicting, rumors and newspaper articles which idealized him as a person. Accounts of Myhrberg's life were written by poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg, philosopher Johan Vilhelm Snellman, poet Fredrik Cygnaeus and writer Zachris Topelius among others. He was elevated into a paragon by Finnish nationalists during the late 19th century.[2] A statue and a park dedicated to Myhrberg can be found in Raahe's old town.[7]
References
^ abSchöldström, Birger (1897). "Den tappre major Myhrberg : en hjälte från Greklands första frihetskrig" [The Brave Major Myhrberg: a Hero of Greece's First War of Independence] (PDF) (in Swedish). eBooks on Demand. Retrieved 2 February 2021. denne svenskfinske frihetskämpes ... Fadern var af svensk börd och kapten i svenska armén
^Tarkiainen, Kari (1993). "August Maximilian Myhrberg". Biografiasampo (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 February 2021. August Maximilian Myhrbergin isä Anders Gustaf Myhrberg oli Ruotsista Raaheen muuttanut kauppias, sittemmin tullivirkamies.
^Röyskö, Marja-Liisa. "RAAHEN POIKA - SAKARI TOPELIUS JA AUGUST MAXIMILIAN MYHRBERG" [A Boy from Raahe - Zachris Topelius and August Maximilian Myhrberg] (PDF) (in Finnish). Raahen Matkailuoppaat ry. Retrieved 2 February 2021. Matts August Myhrberg, joka kutsui itseään August Maximiliamiksi ... olihan heidän kodissaankin puhuttu aina suomea
^Jalonen, Jussi (2010). "On Behalf of the Emperor: The Finnish Guard's Campaign to Poland, 1831". The Slavonic and East European Review. 88 (3). Modern Humanities Research Association: 490–491. doi:10.1353/see.2010.0066. S2CID247622528.
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