Uno Cygnaeus

Cygnaeus, c. 1880

Uno Cygnaeus (12 October 1810 in Hämeenlinna – 2 January 1888 in Helsinki) was a Finnish clergyman, educator, and chief inspector of the country's school system. He is considered the father of the Finnish public school system. His accomplishments also include the initiation of high-class teacher training, emphasizing the importance of women's education and most importantly introducing the use of crafts (sloydveisto in Finnish, sløyd in Norwegian, slöjd in Swedish, and sløjd in Danish) as a mandatory subject in the school curriculum.