Background
Käkikoski was born Hilda Maria Sjöström in Lapinjärvi in 1864.
politician member of the Parliament of Finland
Käkikoski was born Hilda Maria Sjöström in Lapinjärvi in 1864.
After finishing school, she worked as a home tutor until 1888 when she enrolled in university. She completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Finnish and Nordic history in 1895.
She was one of the first nineteen women elected to Finnish parliament in 1906. She moved to Helsinki by herself at the age of 14 to attend a girls" high school with a scholarship. There, she changed her Swedish surname to Käkikoski, the Finnish surname of her neighbours.
She went on to become a teacher at a Helsinki school, teaching classes in history and the Finnish language from 1891 until 1902.
She was elected its vice president in 1895 and held the position until 1904. In 1906, she ran for election with the conservative Finnish Party to the newly established Parliament of Finland.
The 1906 election marked the first that women were able to vote and be voted in. She did not stand for re-election in 1910 due to health problems.
Käkikoski"s literary work included children"s songs, poetry and short stories.
In 1902, she began writing a four-volume account of Finnish history. She continued working on the project until her death in 1912, but the work was never completed.
As Käkikoski developed an interest in feminism and women"s suffrage, she became an active member of the Finnish Women"s Association, and wrote numerous articles for the association"s magazine.