Fredrik Cygnaeus (1 April 1807 – 7 February 1881) was a Finnish poet, art critic and collector, docent of history and university professor of aesthetics and literature.

Fredrik Cygnaeus attended schools in St. Petersburg, learned foreign languages and received European influences.

His was planning to find documents of Swedish history in archives in France and Italy.

[1] When students became more radical, they did not accept Cygnaeus as their curator any more, but the administration awarded him with a professorship in modern literature in 1854.

Cygnaeus was the first one who wrote analysis of central works of Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877).

He had also gathered a remarkable collection of art and curiosities, which he also donated to people of Finland.