Halfdan Olaus Christophersen (13 December 1902 – 27 May 1980) was a Norwegian historian, literature researcher and non-fiction writer.

Personal life

Christophersen was born at

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konne ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Ha ...

, Norway. He was the son of Tollef Christophersen (1878–1949) and Emma Langager (1880–1962). After graduating artium in Arendal in 1921 he began studying philology at the University of Kristiania.

Career

Christophersen attended

Wadham College Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

under a Norwegian Oxford Scholorship. His doctorate thesis at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

was a treatment of John Locke (''A Bibliographical Introduction to the Study of John Locke'' 1932). Christophersen became a

Rockefeller Fellow The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

in 1932 and was able to visit universities in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Switzerland and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

before finishing at Stanford University in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. From 1936 he became engaged as Secretary at the

Institute of Higher International Studies The Institute of Higher International Studies (french: Institut des hautes études internationales, commonly referred to as "IHEI") is a public institution of research and higher education in Paris, France. It was founded in 1921 by Paul Fauchille ...

(''Institut des hautes études internationales'') in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. From 1940 Christophersen was a member of the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Bergen, Norway. 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 th ...

he was a central member of the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled governmen ...

. From late 1944 he lived undercover as an active member of ''Hjemmefrontens Ledelse''. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he served as director of the Department of Information Science and Media Studies at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

(1946-1954). He was editor of the three volumes of ''Den store krigen'', published from 1946 to 1949. Among his other works are biographies of

Marcus Jacob Monrad Marcus Jacob Monrad (19 January 1816 – 30 December 1897) was a Norwegian philosopher, a university professor for more than 40 years. He was born in Nøtterøy to parish priest Peder Monrad and Severine Elisabeth Ambroe, and grew up in Mo i ...

Eilert Sundt Eilert Lund Sundt (8 August 1817 – 13 June 1875) was a Norwegian theologist and sociologist, known for his work on mortality, marriage and other subjects among the working class. He was an early pioneer of the field of sociology in Norway. Earl ...

and Niels Treschow. He wrote several books on the history of travelling and tourism, and World War II memoirs ''Fra nød til seir''.

Publications

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christophersen, Halfdan Olaus 1902 births 1980 deaths People from Drammen Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Academic staff of the University of Bergen 20th-century Norwegian historians Norwegian resistance members Norwegian biographers Male biographers Norwegian memoirists Historians of philosophy 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian male writers 20th-century memoirists