Artturi Nyyssönen

Born as the son of a farmer, Artturi Nyyssönen graduated from high school in 1911 and with a licentiate in medicine in 1920. During this time, he played as a striker for HJK in Helsinki. With HJK he won the Finnish championships in 1911 and 1912. He served as a member of the club’s board from 1912-18, and part of the time as secretary. At the 1912 Olympic Games, Lund played in all four games for the Finnish team. They defeated Italy (in overtime) and Russia in the first two rounds, but had no chance against England in the semifinal and the Netherlands in the bronze medal match. In addition, he only won one more cap, his début against Sweden prior to the Olympics.

After his graduation in medicine, Nyyssönen worked as a municipal doctor in several different locations and as a private doctor. With his wife Ellen, he founded a private maternity hospital in Jyväskylä in 1922 and started a maternity clinic for low-income mothers. He was chief physician of the Valmet group of companies from 1948 to 1953. During the wars, he worked as a military physician and was eventually promoted to medical lieutenant colonel in 1944.

Nyyssönen was a pioneer in the development maternity clinics and became medical advisor in 1952. He was also founder of the Finnish Industrial Physicians’ Association and in 1956 appointed its honorary chairman. The Ellen and Artturi Nyyssönen Foundation is still supporting medical research at the University of Jyväskylä. With his wife Ellen Josefina (née Sinervä) he had two children.