A Scholar of Distinction #420: Agnes Mathilde Wergeland Papers

Published September 10, 2024 at 6:00 AM MDT

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Portrait of Agnes Mathilde Wergeland. Box 5, Agnes Mathilde Wergeland papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Poem titled “Wyoming” written in Norwegian by Agnes Mathilde Wergeland. Box 4, Agnes Mathilde Wergeland papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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“Certificate of Safe Passage” issued to Agnes Mathilde Wergeland by the U.S. Department of State, March 24, 1909. Box 5, Agnes Mathilde Wergeland papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming

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Photograph of the door knocker from “The Doctors’ Inn”, Laramie home of Agnes Mathilde Wergeland. Box 79, Grace Raymond Hebard papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

University of Wyoming Professor Agnes Mathilde Wergeland was a scholar of many distinctions. Born in Christiania, Norway in 1857, Wergeland was an avid student. Women at the time had limited educational opportunities, so she trained to be a governess. But she was dissatisfied with the career options available to her in Norway.

She left the country to study in Germany and then moved on to Switzerland, where she received her Ph.D. in History from the University of Zurich. She was the first Norwegian woman to ever receive a doctoral degree.

Wergeland eventually made her way to the University of Wyoming, where she was hired in 1902 as a professor of History, Spanish and French. Fluent in seven languages, she also wrote poetry in English and Norwegian. Wyoming flowers, birds and mountains featured prominently in her poems.

In Laramie, Wergeland lived with her friend and fellow professor Grace Raymond Hebard in a house nicknamed the “Doctors’ Inn”. It served as a social hub for female students.

See the Agnes Mathilde Wergeland papers at UW’s American Heritage Center to learn more.

For more information, visit the American Heritage Center site.