Jan Birger Jansen (25 September 1898 – 24 November 1984) was a Norwegian physician, anatomist and scientist, specializing in brain research. He played an important role in the Norwegian

civil resistance Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: i ...

during the Second World War.

Personal life

He was born in

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand an ...

as a son of captain James Christian Jansen (1868–1912) and Ananda Kristine Jacobsen (1874–1961). In August 1925 in Frederiksvern he married merchant's daughter Helene Sofie Schøning (1902–1976). They had the son Jan K. S. Jansen and daughters Grete Schøning Jansen Kohler and Ingrid Schøning Jansen Murer-Knutzen.

Career

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 in Horten in 1917 and studied at the Royal Frederick University, graduating with the

cand.med. Candidate of Medicine ( la, candidatus medicinae (male), ''candidata medicinae'' (female), abbreviated cand. med.) is an academic degree awarded in Denmark, Iceland, and Norway following a six-year medical school education. Medical students in ...

degree in 1924. He was hired as a prosector there in 1926, studied with a

Rockefeller Grant Rockefeller is a German surname, originally given to people from the village of Rockenfeld near Neuwied in the Rhineland and commonly referring to subjects associated with the Rockefeller family. It may refer to: People with the name Rockefeller fa ...

under C. Judson Herrick at the University of Chicago from 1927 to 1929, and back in Norway he took the

dr.med. Doctor Medicinae, also spelled Doctor Medicinæ and abbreviated Dr. Med., is a higher doctoral degree (a research doctorate) in medicine awarded by universities in Denmark and formerly in Norway. It is officially translated as Doctor of Medical S ...

degree in 1931 with the thesis ''The brain of Myxine glutinosa''. He continued as a researcher at the University of Chicago, and was a professor from 1945 to 1966. He was the Europe-based editor for the ''

Journal of Comparative Neurology ''The Journal of Comparative Neurology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that focuses on neuroscience and related fields, but specifically does not deal with clinical aspects of them. It was established in 1891 and is published by Wiley- ...

''. Together with

Alf Brodal Alf Brodal (25 January 1910 – 29 February 1988) was a Norwegian professor of anatomy. Personal life He was born in Kristiania as a son of the doctor of engineering Peter Brodal (1872–1935) and his wife Helene Kathrine Obenauer (1879–1934). ...

he is credited with founding the "Oslo School" of brain research. His research speciality was the

cerebellum The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cerebel ...

, but in addition to the human brain, Jansen did research on

cetacea Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

n brains. He also did research in neuropathology and published textbooks in anatomy and histology, and published three books based on Olof Larssell's work after Larssell died. During the Second World War, Jansen participated in the Norwegian resistance movement from 1940 onwards. He edited the

illegal newspaper Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body. Illegal may also refer to: Law * Violation of law * Crime, the practice of breaking the cr ...

Bulletinen ''Bulletinen'' ("The Bulletin") was an underground newspaper in Norway during World War II. Its first issue came in November 1940, and the publication continued until the end of the war. The name ''Bulletinen'' was adapted in November 1944. It w ...

'' from 1941; from 1942 to 1944 as the sole editor, and was a member of the so-called Coordination Committee ( no, Koordinasjonskomiteen (KK)). He had to flee to Sweden in 1944. In 1961 Jansen stood forward as a member of

Landsforbundet for folkeavstemning Landsforbundet for folkeavstemning ('The National Association for Referendum') was a Norwegian lobby organization. History Inception It was founded in April 1961 with the goal of including the institution of referendums in the Norwegian Constitut ...

, a lobby organization which worked to include the institution of referendums in the Norwegian Constitution. Jansen was decorated Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1963. He was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and an honorary doctor of the University of Kiel, the University of Leiden and the

University of Århus Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra G ...

Selected bibliography

*''The brain of Myxine glutinosa'' (thesis, 1930) *''Aspects of cerebral anatomy'' (with

, 1954) *''Das Kleinhirn'' (with

, 1958) *''The Comparative Anatomy and Histology of the Cerebellum ''(based on Olof Larsell's work, 1967–1972)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Jan Birger 1898 births 1984 deaths People from Horten Norwegian anatomists University of Oslo alumni University of Chicago alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian resistance members World War II resistance press activists Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters