He was born into a poor sailor’s family. When he was studying, he worked as a private home teacher in summers. In some family in Ruovesi he heard stories about wars. In Saarijärvi he met an ordinary peasant and saw that those people were not lazier or dirtier than other people. After finishing his studying , Runeberg moved to Porvoo and worked there as a teacher up until his retirement. In Porvoo he wrote poems and they got a lot of attention.