Ditmar Meidell (24 January 1826 – 13 July 1900) was a Norwegian magazine and newspaper editor. He was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

as a son of Lieutenant Colonel and customs inspector Christopher Pritzier Meidell (1783–1851) Laura Fogh (1793–1864). He tried to get into the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

, but failed the admission test. He studied

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

for a short time before founding the

satirical magazine This is a list of satirical magazines which have a satirical bent, and which may consist of fake news stories for mainly humorous purposes. List See also * List of satirists and satires * List of satirical news websites * List of satir ...

Krydseren ''Krydseren'' was a Norwegian language, Norwegian satirical magazine published between 1849 and 1855. History and profile ''Krydseren'' was established in 1849 by Ditmar Meidell, and published by Christian Schibsted. It is regarded as the first ...

'' together with Gudbrand Andreas Berg, Jakob Thomas Rørdam and Claudius Schive in 1849.

Hartvig Lassen Hartvig Marcus Lassen (9 August 1824 – 9 August 1897) was a Norwegian editor, educator and literary historian. Personal life He was born in Bergen, Norway as a son of police chief and burgomaster Albert Lassen (1783–1860) and his wife Abigael ...

, Anton Rosing, Halvor Bentsen, Hans Brun and especially Ole Richter were also part of the milieu around the magazine. Norway's first satirical magazine, it was first issued fortnightly, but then weekly and later twice a week. Meidell was the sole editor-in-chief from 1851. Among his contributions as a writer, he is remembered for the song Oleanna. He published collections of writings, ''Krydserviser'' in 1882 and then ''Paa Kryds og paa Tværs'' in two volumes in 1888 and 1889. On 1 January 1855, ''Krydseren'' ended and in its place came the newspaper ''

Aftenbladet ''Aftenbladet'' ("The Evening Paper") was a daily newspaper in Oslo, Norway. History and profile ''Aftenbladet'' was established in 1855 as a continuation of the satirical magazine ''Krydseren'', and had the same editor-in-chief, Ditmar Meidell ...

''. Meidell edited the newspaper together with Børge Hjelm, then with Ole Richter, then with

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

. Bjørnson did not last for long in ''Aftenbladet'' because of political differences, but wrote in 1870 that Meidell was "the finest and wittiest pen" in Norwegian journalism. From 1860 to 1879 Meidell was the sole editor. However, his successor J. Sandberg soon died, and Meidell was again editor from 1880 to 1881, when the newspaper became defunct. From 1884 to 1885 Meidell published a periodical named ''Norsk Maanedsskrift for Literatur, Kunst og Politik''. Despite that ''Krydseren'' and ''Aftenbladet'' were liberal-leaning, ''Norsk Maanedsskrift'' has been called a "Conservative reply to

Ernst Sars Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars (11 October 1835 – 27 January 1917) was a Norwegian professor, historian, author and editor. His main work was ''Udsigt over den norske Historie'', four volumes issued from 1873 to 1891. He co-edited the magazines ...

' ''

Nyt Tidsskrift ''Nyt Tidsskrift'' is a former Norwegian language, Norwegian literary, cultural and political periodical issued from 1882 to 1887, and with a second series from 1892 to 1895. The periodical had contributions from several of the leading intellectuals ...

''". Meidell was also head librarian at the

Deichman Library Oslo Public Library (officially called in Norwegian ''Deichman bibliotek'', Deichman Library) is the municipal public library serving Oslo, Norway and is the country's first and largest library. It employs over 300 people and has over 20 branches ...

from 1884 to 1898. In July 1868 in Hommedal Meidell married vicar's daughter Thora Houge (1843–1924). He died in July 1900 in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meidell, Ditmar 1826 births 1900 deaths Journalists from Bergen Norwegian magazine editors Norwegian satirists Norwegian newspaper editors Norwegian librarians 19th-century journalists Male journalists 19th-century Norwegian writers 19th-century Norwegian male writers Norwegian magazine founders