Gunnar Mickwitz
Humanist of the day

Gunnar Mickwitz

Gunnar Mickwitz was one of the most promising Finnish historians of his day. His research had significant consequences for our understanding of antiquity and the economic history of the middle ages. Writing in seven languages, Mickwitz was an international scholar ahead of his time. In 1940 however, a promising career was cut short in Finnish Karelia during the Winter War.

Gunnar Mickwitz

Born October 19, 1906, Turku. Died February 18, 1940, Pienpero, Karjalankannas.

Bachelor of Arts (History), 1929, Master of Arts, 1932, Licentiate of Philosophy, 1933, Doctor of Philosophy (priimus), 1936, University of Helsinki
Study trip to Uppsala, 1930-1931

Acting Professor of General History, Åbo Akademi, 1938-1939
Lektor, History and Social Science, Hangö Svenska Samlyceum (upper secondary school), 1933-1937
Docent, Ancient History (later General History), 1933-1940, University of Helsinki
Reporter, Studentbladet newspaper, 1930

Chairman, Finlands Svenska Studentkårsförbund, 1938-1939

Named after Mickwitz
The Gunnar Mickwitz Prize, 1992
The Gunnar Mickwitz Foundation, 1940

Photo: National Board of Antiquities
Written by Tomas Sjöblom
Translated by John Calton

A new understanding of economic history

Gunnar Mickwitz’s dissertation, Geld und Wirtschaft im römischen Reich des vierten Jahrhunderts n. Chr. (‘The money and economy of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century AD’), was published in 1932. In it, Mickwitz researched the relationship between monetary and natural, or subsistence economies, as well as their importance to…

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