Profile of the Day: Jenny Lind

Posted October 6, 2021 by Amanda | No Comment

On this day in 1820, Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind was born in Stockholm, Sweden.

Image: Jenny Lind / Nationalmuseum (Stockholm), Wikimedia Commons

Nicknamed the “Swedish Nightingale,” Lind was one of America’s first female celebrities. A sensation across Europe, Lind was persuaded by American showman P.T. Barnum to undertake a tour in the United States. Barnum succeeded in creating great publicity in anticipation for her arrival. Soon everyone in the country knew of Lind and her upcoming tour. Tickets were in such high demand that Barnum sold them by auction. By the time of her arrival to the U.S. in 1850, “Lind mania” had swept the nation. More than 30,000 people witnessed her arrival by steamship into the New York harbor. Jenny Lind paper dolls, gloves, cigars, hats and even tea sets were sold across the country.

Lind gave 93 concerts while working with Barnum and the tour proved to be a huge financial success. She donated much of her profits to her favorite charities and in support of free schools back home in Sweden. After returning to Europe in 1852, she retired from her professional career, but made occasional performances in concert halls over the years.

Lind died on November 2, 1887 at the age of 67.

Explore Jenny Lind’s family tree on Geni and share how you’re related to the Swedish Nightingale.