Carl Hjalmar Lagerborg

Artist: W. E.-Ab

Carl Hjalmar Lagerborg

Postmaster 1887–1903

Lagerborg (1842–1910) was an officer and engineer, and his appointment seems to have been politically motivated since he was respected across party lines in Finland. Lagerborg was an effective organiser and attacked practical problems in the postal services. The improvements came to an end with the Postal Manifesto in 1890. Lagerborg resigned because he refused to implement postal censorship as demanded by Governor-General Bobrikov.

Postal History in Finland

Postisäästöpankki (Post Savings Bank) founded in 1887.
The goal of the Postal Act 1888 was to open a post office in every municipality.
The Postal Manifesto issued in 1890. The Finnish postal services became part of the Russian Interior Ministry. The lion stamp was banned and replaced with the Russian-style stamps.
Rural delivery routes were established in 1890 to improve postal services in remote locations.
The post office network became significantly denser at the turn of the century. Post stops began to be opened along rural delivery routes in 1891.
Act on Transportation and inns in 1888 -> a contractual system for deliveries
14,124,000 items delivered 5.93/person in 1890 (664,000 official letters, 7,580,000 newspapers, 5,888,000 stamped deliveries).
36.971,000 items delivered 13.92/person in 1900 (1,561,000 official letters, 21,910,000 newspapers, 13,500,000 stamped deliveries).
37 post offices, 235 sub-post offices, 146 post stations in 1890.

Finland

Governor-General Bobrikov published the February Manifesto of 1899, which continued the Russification efforts in Finland; years of oppression. Most Finns considered the manifesto illegal.
Päivälehti newspaper 1889–1904 (–> Helsingin Sanomat)
Helsinki Zoo in Korkeasaari established in 1889.
Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 1 premiered in Helsinki in 1899.
First records of motorcars on Finnish roads in 1899. Hufvudstadsbladet wrote that "a motor carriage" moved in the streets of Helsinki and "caused curious interest among the public".
The first electric tram in Helsinki began operating between Töölö and Hietalahti in 1900.
Population 2.38 million in 1890, 2.65 million in 1900.

Global Events

The Eiffel Tower inaugurated in 1889.
The world's first film "Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory" in 1895.
The opening ceremony of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.
Bram Stoker's "Dracula" was first published in London in 1897.
Felix Hoffmann patented aspirin in 1899.
Zeppelin's first flight in Germany in 1900.
Pablo Picasso's first exhibition opened in Paris in 1901.
The first Nobel Prizes awarded in 1901.
The first airplane built by the Wright brothers in 1903.
Albert Einstein published his theory of relativity in 1905.