Museologist, Ethnographer, Scholar, Folklorist. Artur Hazelius was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of a military officer and polititian. He entered Uppsala University in 1854, and earned his doctorate in Scandinavian Languages in 1860. After graduation he worked as a teacher and contributed to school book reform. In 1869 he was part of the Scandinavian Orthographic Congress in Stockholm, and was later influential in the work which lead to the spelling reform introduced in Swedish schools in 1906. While travelling throughout Sweden, he observed that conditions in rural farmlands were changing rapidly. As the population grew, the numbers of tenant farmers who owed their livelihood to the landowners of the gentry also grew. Other influences such as land reform and reallocation, mechanization of agriculture, the replacement of traditional crafts with industrially produced products, people leaving farms for work in factories, and a high emigration rate all took a toll on the traditional rural lifestyle. Recognizing this cultural shift, in the 1870s Hazelius began collecting items of clothing, household utensils, farm tools, and furniture with the intent of preserving them for future generations. In 1873 he opened his first museum, the Scandinavian Ethnographic Collection (Skandinavisk-etnografiska samlingen) in Stockholm. It featured displays of cottage interiors with authentic furnishings and objects with mannequins clothed in traditional costumes and using painted panoramas as backdrops. His idea was validated when he won a gold medal at the 1878 World Exposition in Paris. In 1880 the name of the museum changed to Nordiska Museet, the name under which it still operates today. The Skansen website indicates that "Hazelius later noted with pride that the Nordiska museet ‘could be considered the property of the Swedish people.'" As the museum grew it required more space and in 1882 land was secured on the island Djurgården. Construction began in 1888 and the new home of the Nordiska Museet was opened to the public in its present location in 1907. With the Nordiska firmly established in Stockholm, he moved on to a bigger dream of displaying a complete environment, including authentically furnished buildings in a natural landscape, with animals and live costumed interpreters. In 1885 he acquired his first building, Mora cottage from Dalarna. More land was acquired on Djurgården and on Sunday October 11, 1891 Skansen, the attraction its website refers to as "the world's first open-air museum" opened to the public, with Mora cottage its first building. It began as 30,000 square meters and through subsequent expansion both during Hazelius' lifetime and after has grown to 300,000 square meters. The exhibits span several decades and a variety of Swedish lifestyles, including a manor house, farms, a soldier's cottage, church, and schoolhouse. The pathways are dotted with rune stones and mile markers from all over Sweden. Interpreters in tradtional dress are on hand to explain the surroundings and artifacts, and demonstrate occupations, chores, and customs associated with each location. Once Skansen was built up with a variety of buildings, animals, gardens and pathways to connect it all, its programs were expanded to include festivals throughout the year demonstrating celebrations of many forms of traditional and contemporary cultural events. This tradition still draws huge crowds to the museum year round, and includes country dances, folk music, crafts and a Julmarknad (Christmas Market). Artur Hazelius was married to poet Sofia Elisabeth Grafström. During the last years of his life he lived in a house on the grounds of Skansen, where he died in 1901. He was interred February 4, 1902 at Skansen. His gravesite, nestled among the trees and buildings, is located along a rustic path leading from the Väla School to the Skåne Farm.