Gösta Knutsson
Encyclopedia
Gösta Lars August Knutsson (original surname Johansson; 12 October 1908, Stockholm
– 4 April 1973) was a Swedish
radio producer and writer of a popular series of children's books about the cat Pelle Svanslös.
Gösta Knutsson was born in a middle-class family in Stockholm
and came to the University of Uppsala as a student, remaining in Uppsala
for the rest of his life. After completing an M.A. degree, he was curator (chairman) of the Stockholm Nation and later chairman of the Uppsala Student Union
(1936–1938). He was also editor of the student union paper Ergo 1940-42. During his time as student union chairman, he was also employed as head of the Uppsala
office of the Swedish National Radio and remained there from 1936 until 1969. As such he introduced the quiz show
in Sweden, with the first one recruiting the two teams from two of the student nations in Uppsala.
Knutsson is most remembered for his series of children's books
about Pelle Svanslös, "Peter No-Tail", a good-hearted and often naïve cat
whose tail had been bitten off by a rat when he was a kitten. The books contain a number of other cats such as Pelle's darling Maja Gräddnos ("Mary Cream-nose") or his adversary, the bully Elaka Måns ("Mean Magnus"), who never forgets reminding Pelle of his lack of a tail, and Måns' two followers Bill and Bull, who tend to repeat everything Måns says in fragmentary and garbled form. The anthropomorphic
cats mostly live in the area around the cathedral
and the university in Uppsala, seen from a somewhat feline perspective.
Knutsson has said that the tailless cat Pelle was based on a real cat he had himself known for a summer in his childhood, but also that the cat was his own alter ego
. Maja Gräddnos is supposedly based on his own wife Erna. Måns is generically evil with elements fetched from Hitler
and Mussolini
. The other cats were all caricatures of people among Knutsson's own circle of friends and acquaintances in Uppsala.
Pelle Svanslös made his public debut in a story told by Knutsson on radio in 1937, with the first book appearing in 1939. The Pelle Svanslös books have been reprinted in Swedish many times and have also been translated to Finnish
, Danish
, Norwegian
, German
, Latvian
, and Polish
.
As a nationally well-known and liked character, Pelle Svanslös has been used by the municipality of Uppsala for marketing purposes. There is a "Pelle Svanslös House" for children in Uppsala, and during summer the tourist office arranges daily Pelle Svanslös-related walks for children (and nostalgic adults).
The asteroid 8534 Knutsson
has been named by Uppsala astronomers in honour of Gösta Knutsson, and other asteroids have been named after cats from his books: 8535 Pellesvanslös
, 8536 Måns
, 8537 Billochbull
, 8539 Laban
(after the cat Laban, who lives in the Observatory park and has also given name to one of the first computers of the Department of Astronomy), and 8538 Gammelmaja
(named after Gammel-Maja, "Old Mary", a wise old cat living in the cathedral).
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
– 4 April 1973) was a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
radio producer and writer of a popular series of children's books about the cat Pelle Svanslös.
Gösta Knutsson was born in a middle-class family in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and came to the University of Uppsala as a student, remaining in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
for the rest of his life. After completing an M.A. degree, he was curator (chairman) of the Stockholm Nation and later chairman of the Uppsala Student Union
Uppsala Student Union
Uppsala Student Union is one of two students' unions at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden.According to Swedish law, university students are no longer required to be members of a students' union since 2010...
(1936–1938). He was also editor of the student union paper Ergo 1940-42. During his time as student union chairman, he was also employed as head of the Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
office of the Swedish National Radio and remained there from 1936 until 1969. As such he introduced the quiz show
Quiz Show
Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...
in Sweden, with the first one recruiting the two teams from two of the student nations in Uppsala.
Knutsson is most remembered for his series of children's books
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
about Pelle Svanslös, "Peter No-Tail", a good-hearted and often naïve cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
whose tail had been bitten off by a rat when he was a kitten. The books contain a number of other cats such as Pelle's darling Maja Gräddnos ("Mary Cream-nose") or his adversary, the bully Elaka Måns ("Mean Magnus"), who never forgets reminding Pelle of his lack of a tail, and Måns' two followers Bill and Bull, who tend to repeat everything Måns says in fragmentary and garbled form. The anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
cats mostly live in the area around the cathedral
Uppsala Cathedral
Uppsala Cathedral is a cathedral located centrally in the city of Uppsala, Sweden. It dates back to the late 13th century and at a height of 118.7 m is the tallest church building in Scandinavia. Originally built under Roman Catholicism and used for coronations of the Swedish monarch, since the...
and the university in Uppsala, seen from a somewhat feline perspective.
Knutsson has said that the tailless cat Pelle was based on a real cat he had himself known for a summer in his childhood, but also that the cat was his own alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
. Maja Gräddnos is supposedly based on his own wife Erna. Måns is generically evil with elements fetched from Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
. The other cats were all caricatures of people among Knutsson's own circle of friends and acquaintances in Uppsala.
Pelle Svanslös made his public debut in a story told by Knutsson on radio in 1937, with the first book appearing in 1939. The Pelle Svanslös books have been reprinted in Swedish many times and have also been translated to Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Latvian
Latvian language
Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
, and Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
.
As a nationally well-known and liked character, Pelle Svanslös has been used by the municipality of Uppsala for marketing purposes. There is a "Pelle Svanslös House" for children in Uppsala, and during summer the tourist office arranges daily Pelle Svanslös-related walks for children (and nostalgic adults).
The asteroid 8534 Knutsson
8534 Knutsson
8534 Knutsson is a main-belt asteroid discovered on March 17, 1993 by C.-I. Lagerkvist at the European Southern Observatory.- External links :*...
has been named by Uppsala astronomers in honour of Gösta Knutsson, and other asteroids have been named after cats from his books: 8535 Pellesvanslös
8535 Pellesvanslös
8535 Pellesvanslös is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 2048.9658443 days . The asteroid was discovered on March 21, 1993.-References:...
, 8536 Måns
8536 Måns
8536 Måns is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 1910.3346238 days . The asteroid was discovered on March 21, 1993.-References:...
, 8537 Billochbull
8537 Billochbull
8537 Billochbull is a main-belt asteroid discovered on March 21, 1993 by C.-I. Lagerkvist at the European Southern Observatory.- External links :*...
, 8539 Laban
8539 Laban
8539 Laban is a main-belt asteroid discovered on March 19, 1993 by C.-I. Lagerkvist at the European Southern Observatory.- External links :*...
(after the cat Laban, who lives in the Observatory park and has also given name to one of the first computers of the Department of Astronomy), and 8538 Gammelmaja
8538 Gammelmaja
8538 Gammelmaja is a main-belt asteroid discovered on March 21, 1993 by C.-I. Lagerkvist at the European Southern Observatory.- External links :*...
(named after Gammel-Maja, "Old Mary", a wise old cat living in the cathedral).
External links
- Gösta Knutsson, on Pegasos, a Finland-based literature site with articles in English
- On the asteroids Knutsson, Pellesvanslös, Måns, Billochbull, Gammelmaja, Laban, at the website of the Uppsala Astronomical ObservatoryUppsala Astronomical ObservatoryThe Uppsala Astronomical Observatory is the oldest astronomical observatory in Sweden. It was founded in 1741, though there was a professorial chair of astronomy at the University of Uppsala from 1593 and the university archives include lecture notes in astronomy from the 1480s.In the 18th...