Arne Bergsgård (18 April 1886 – 18 June 1954) was a Norwegian historian and educator.

Biography

Arne Bergsgård was born in

Vestre Slidre Vestre Slidre is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Slidre. Other villages in Vestre Slidre include Lomen and Røn. ...

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The co ...

and grew up in Vang, Norway. He was the son of Asle Bergsgård and Ingeborg Thune. He attended high school in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

, where he graduated in 1904. In 1910, he received his philology degree. He served as a teacher from 1911 to 1914 in

Volda Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and Gro ...

, and from 1914 to 1922 at

Stord Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural l ...

. In 1922, he was appointed a senior lecturer in history at the

Norwegian College of General Sciences Norwegian College of General Sciences ( no, Den allmennvitenskapelige høgskole) or AVH is a former Norwegian college which from 1968 to 1996 was part of the University of Trondheim (UNIT). It was created as the Norwegian College of Teaching in Tro ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. He earned his PhD in 1933 with a thesis on

Ole Gabriel Ueland Ole Gabriel Ueland (28 October 1799 – 9 January 1870) was a Norwegian political leader and member of the Norwegian Parliament (1833–1869). Historians credit him with having popularized politics in rural Norway, paving the way for individuals ...

, and in 1935 he became a professor. He was rector of the college from 1937 to 1953. He was a board member of

Noregs Mållag Noregs Mållag (literally "Language Organisation of Norway") is the main organisation for Norwegian Nynorsk (New Norwegian), one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language. In the Norwegian language conflict, it advocates the u ...

from 1929 to 1936. During the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

he joined the resistance movement, editing the underground publication ''I krigstid''. He was a member of the postwar investigation committee, ''

Undersøkelseskommisjonen av 1945 Undersøkelseskommisjonen av 1945 was a commission appointed by the Parliament of Norway in 1945 and chaired by Norwegian politician Gustav Heiberg, given the task to investigate the role of the three branches of power: the Norwegian Parliament, Go ...

'', where he wrote the appendix on the Norwegian Government's Foreign Policy up to April 1940. As a historian, he concentrated largely on the 19th century, primarily the emergence of Norwegian national identity. He became a member of

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters ( da, Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab, DKNVS) is a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The s ...

in 1926 and the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

in 1938. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1950. ''Arne Bergsgård'' (Den Store Danske)
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References

External links

Arne Bergsgård private archive
is kept at NTNU University Library 1886 births 1954 deaths People from Vestre Slidre 20th-century Norwegian historians Noregs Mållag Norwegian resistance members Norwegian editors Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters {{Norway-historian-stub