Tillie Anderson

Tillie Anderson (1896)

Matilda "Tillie" Anderson Sjöberg (born April 23, 1875 in Grevie församling , Skåne , Sweden , † April 29, 1965 in Chicago ) was an American cyclist .

biography

Tillie Anderson was the fourth of five children in the family. Her father died when she was eight years old and she had to work with local farmers to help support the family. Even then, her strong will and perseverance were evident. In 1891 she emigrated to the United States with her brother August; they moved to Chicago with their eldest sister Hanna , who was already living there. The rest of the family followed in the following year.

Anderson found work with a tailor. There she saw a customer's bicycle and was fascinated. Within two years she saved the money for her own bike. At the time, women were told that cycling was not for them; another problem was the lack of suitable clothing. Tillie Anderson, as she now called herself, could not be dissuaded, trained a lot and sewed suitable clothing herself. In 1895 she took part in her first cycle race from Elgin to Aurora , which she won straight away in record time. She later traveled across the country to compete in six-day races for women, in which the female drivers drove two hours a day for six days.

In 1897 she married Filip Sjöberg, the director of a bicycle factory who was himself a cyclist. He quickly noticed that Tillie had the greater talent, no longer drove himself, but devoted himself to training his wife. Tillie Anderson took part in 130 bike races, of which she won 123 races. She was popular with the press, who wrote reports of her skills, strength, and tactics. However, a picture of her trained legs was also published to show the horrific effect of cycling on the female figure.

Tillie Anderson made a good living from the income from cycling and got an advertising contract with a bicycle manufacturer. The League of American Wheelmen (LAW) called her “the best female cyclist in the world”, but she was also nicknamed “The Terrible Swede”. She held records over all distances, from sprints to endurance courses. In 1902 her husband Filip Sjöberg died, and Tillie Anderson ended her competitive career. In the same year, the participation of women in cycling races was banned by the League because of alleged dangerousness .

Tillie Anderson Sjöberg remained active in the LAW and other cycling organizations until her death in 1965 in Chicago. Her friends included suffragette Susan B. Anthony and Amelia Bloomer . After she had to quit cycling, she was one of the first women to drive a car at the beginning of the 20th century. In 2000, she was posthumously honored by being inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame .

literature

• Sue Stauffacher: Tillie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, a Sewing Needle, and a Bicycle Changed History , 2011 (children's book)

Web links

Commons : Tillie Anderson  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• tillieanderson.com
• Tillie Anderson at usbhof.org

References and comments

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} De cyklande kvinnorna - Happyride.se. In: happyride.se. Retrieved October 29, 2018 (sv-SE). 
2. ↑ reading.org  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.