Ella Kivikoski (1901–1990)

Ella Kivikoski was born in Tammela, Finland, and began her professional life working in her father's bank for several years. At the University of Helsinki, she first studied history and Finnish language before switching to the field of archaeology. In 1931, she studied at the Baltic Institute in Stockholm, then returned to Helsinki to become the first woman in her country to earn a doctoral degree in archaeology. She was a professor of Archaeology at the University of Helsinki from 1948 until 1969, specializing in both Finnish and Nordic archaeology and the Finnish Iron Age. Among her many books and publications was a two-volume work, Suomen rautakauden kuvasto (Illustrated Catalogue of Iron Age Finland, 1947-1951).