Anders Chydenius - Legacy

Legacy

Chydenius can be seen as a major influence on Nordic thinkers as well as real-life politics, strictly promoting globalization. He has been labeled the father of Swedish liberalism. Both Sweden and Finland include him among their historical notables, and he is variably categorized either Swedish or Finnish by nationality.

Anders Chydenius is remembered as a man ahead of his time, expressing ideas that were radical in his day, but are now the backbone of the Nordic ideology. He can also be seen as an Enlightenment thinker, an advocate of science, arts, rational thinking and freedom. He was also a scientist and skilled eye-surgeon, the maker of several inventions, a pioneer of vaccination in Finland and the founder of an orchestra.

Chydenius was featured on the highest valued bank note (1000 marks) of the Finnish mark's last design series.

Anders Chydenius was selected as the main motif in a recent Finnish commemorative coin, the €10 Anders Chydenius commemorative coin, minted in 2003. The obverse features an open book, referring to Chydenius’s numerous publications and the Bible. On the reverse, a traditional village with a church and other buildings can be seen.

In the book Historiens 100 viktigaste svenskar ("100 Most Important Swedes in History"), written by Niklas Ekdal and Petter Karlsson, Chydenius was ranked as the seventeenth most important Swede in history. In Finland, Chydenius was ranked on the place #40 in the list of "Greatest Finns" in a voting contest organised by the national broadcasting company.