Ellen Nielsen, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Ellen Nielsen

Danish missionary and educator

Date of Birth: 17-Jul-1871

Place of Birth: Holbæk Municipality, Region Zealand, Denmark

Date of Death: 25-Jul-1960

Profession: teacher, missionary

Nationality: Denmark, China

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Ellen Nielsen (Chinese: ????·??? or more commonly Chinese: ???, 17 July 1871-25 July 1960) was a Danish-born teacher and missionary who moved to Manchuria, took Chinese citizenship and worked to establish schools and provide social services in the Qianshan District.
She founded the first kindergarten, a girl's elementary school, as well as a middle school, high school and normal school.
Providing employment, she established a manufacturing center where women produced textile goods and men learned agricultural skills.
Paying workers from her own salary, she created a collective village, where the Gushan Apricot was first cultivated by Nielsen.
During the Communist Revolution she was arrested and her belongings and the communal lands were confiscated.
When they were redistributed she was assisted by villagers to meet the production requirements.
Her helpers were arrested and after her death were tried as counter-revolutionaries.
She was rehabilitated in 1980 and is now recognized in China for her contributions to the Liaoning Province.