Portrait of Hugo Alfvén

Birthday profile

Hugo Alfvén

Hugo Alfvén, Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter (died 1960)

Born
May 1, 1872
Died
May 8, 1960
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1872

About Hugo Alfvén

Hugo Emil Alfvén (Swedish: [alˈveːn]; 1 May 1872 – 8 May 1960) was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter. Alfvén was one of Sweden's principal composers. His "Swedish Rhapsody No. 1”, written when he was 31, is still one of the best-known pieces of Swedish music. After extensive European travels to develop his musical skills, Alfvén taught composition, before conducting choirs and orchestras. In 1954, he made the first Swedish classical stereo recordings. Hugo Alfvén’s extensive musical archive is held at Uppsala University, where he was music director for twenty-nine years. == Career == === Violinist === Alfvén was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and studied at the Royal College of Music (Kungliga Musikhögskolan) from 1887 to 1891 with the violin as his main instrument while receiving lessons from Lars Zetterquist. He also took private composition lessons from Johan Lindegren, a leading counterpoint expert. At the same time he played the violin at the Royal Opera in Stockholm 1890-1892.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Hugo Alfvén was born

Hugo Alfvén was born in 1872. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1872

  • Best-selling bookAround the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineYellowstone established as first national park
  • Technology milestoneCelluloid (first plastic) manufacturing begins
  • World population~1.52B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderUlysses S. Grant
  • U.S. population40.2M

1872 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Hugo Alfvén's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18722026
Population40.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.