Haaken Hasberg Gran (17 April 1870 – 2 June 1955) was a Norwegian botanist.

Personal life

Gran was born in

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...

as the son of naval captain August Kriegsmann Gran (1844–1895) and his wife Agnes Hasberg (1846–1928). He was the paternal grandson of politician

Jens Gran Jens Gran (8 October 1794 – 23 January 1881) was a Norwegian politician. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1839, 1845 and 1848, representing the constituency of Bergen. He was the father of businesspersons Christen Knagenhjelm Gran ...

, nephew of businessperson Jens Gran, Jr., first cousin of aviator

Tryggve Gran Jens Tryggve Herman Gran (20 January 1888 – 8 January 1980) was a Norwegian aviator, polar explorer and author. He was the skiing expert on the 1910–13 Scott Antarctic Expedition and was the first person to fly across the North Sea from ...

and second cousin of writer

Gerhard Gran Gerhard von der Lippe Gran (9 December 1856 – 7 April 1925) was a Norwegian literary historian, professor, magazine editor, essayist and biographer. Personal life Gran was born in Bergen as the son of merchant Christen Knagenhjelm Gran (1822� ...

. He married Margrethe Kristofa Holm (1877–1932) in August 1897.

Career

Gran

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

his secondary education at Kristiania Cathedral School in 1888, and graduated from the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

with the

cand.real. Candidatus realium or candidata realium (abbreviated cand. real.) is a former academic degree used in Norway, and conferred in mathematics and natural sciences. It was abolished in 1985. There was originally no set duration for the completion of th ...

degree in 1894. In the same year he was hired as a lab assistant at the University Botanical Garden. He originally studied

phycology Phycology () is the scientific study of algae. Also known as algology, phycology is a branch of life science. Algae are important as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. Most algae are eukaryotic, photosynthetic organisms that live in a w ...

under

Nordal Wille Johan Nordal Fischer Wille (28 October 1858 – 4 February 1924) was a Norwegian botanist. He was a professor at the Royal Frederick University from 1893 to his death, founded the laboratory at the University Botanical Garden and co-founded the N ...

, but from 1897 he worked with

marine zoology Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

under

Johan Hjort Johan Hjort (18 February 1869, in Christiania – 7 October 1948, in Oslo) was a Norwegian fisheries scientist, marine zoologist, and oceanographer. He was among the most prominent and influential marine zoologists of his time. The early year ...

, and together with hydrographer

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

. Gran especially concentrated on

planktology Planktology is the study of plankton, various small drifting plants, animals and microorganisms that inhabit bodies of water. Planktology topics include primary production, energy flow and the carbon cycle. Plankton drive the "biological pump", ...

, and took the doctorate in 1902 with the thesis ''Das Plankton des norwegischen Nordmeeres'', following field study in the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...

. In the same year he was among the founders of the

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES; french: Conseil International de l'Exploration de la Mer, ''CIEM'') is a regional fishery advisory body and the world's oldest intergovernmental science organization. ICES is headqu ...

. He worked as a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

at Bergens Museum from 1901 to 1905 and as a professor of botany and director of the University Botanical Garden 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 ...

from 1905 to 1940. Notable publications include the German-language ''Diatomeen'' (1908), ''Pelagic Plant Life'' (1912) and ''A quantitative study of the phytoplankton in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine'' (with

Trygve Braarud Trygve Braarud (15 September 1903 – 9 July 1985) was a Norwegian botanist. He specialized in marine biology, and was affiliated with the University of Oslo for most of his career. Career He was born in Verdal, and had ten older siblings as wel ...

, 1935). The two former were used as reference works in education for several decades. He was a member of

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 ...

, the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

and the

Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters {{Infobox organization , name = The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters , full_name = , native_name = Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab , native_name_lang = , logo = Royal ...

. He was awarded the

Alexander Agassiz Medal The Alexander Agassiz Medal is awarded every three years by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for an original contribution in the science of oceanography. It was established in 1911 by Sir John Murray in honor of his friend, the scientist Ale ...

in 1938, and was a Knight of the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

, the Swedish

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

and the Turkish

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in fi ...

. Gran was also a choir singer, a keen horticulturalist (chairman of the

Norwegian Horticulture Society The Norwegian Horticultural Society ( no, Det norske hageselskap, often shortened to ''Hageselskapet'') is an interest organisation in Norway. It was established as ''Selskabet Havedyrkningens Venner'' in 1884. Its purpose is to promote gardening ...

from 1908 to 1938), vice chairman of the Norwegian-British Friendship Society from 1921 to 1929 and a member of the

Oxford Group The Oxford Group was a Christian organization (first known as ''First Century Christian Fellowship'') founded by the American Lutheran minister Frank Buchman in 1921. Buchman believed that fear and selfishness were the root of all problems. Fur ...

. He died in 1955 in Oslo.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gran, Haaken Hasberg 1870 births 1955 deaths 19th-century Norwegian botanists Norwegian phycologists Norwegian planktologists University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Bergen Academic staff of the University of Oslo Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie People from Tønsberg 20th-century Norwegian botanists