Johan Andreas Holvik (May 19, 1880 – November 25, 1960) was a Norwegian-American author and a professor at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Background

Johan Andreas Holvik was born in Miner County, near

Howard, South Dakota Howard is a city in Miner County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 848 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat and most populous city in Miner County. History The city of Howard was established in 1881, shortly after the Sout ...

to immigrants Peder Holvik and Eli Jonsdatter from Nordfjord,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Holvik attended Madison State Normal School in

Madison, South Dakota Madison is a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,191 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lake County and is home to Dakota State University. Geography Madison is located at (44.007734, -97.114738). ...

. He graduated from

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

(BA. 1907). He subsequently studied at the

University of Oslo 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 ...

and at Luther Theological Seminary in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. Holvik graduated from

(MA. 1913).

Career

Holvik was a Faculty Member of the Norwegian Department at St. Olaf College during 1907–1908. Holvik taught at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa from 1913 until 1919. Holvik relocated to Concordia College in 1923. Holvik was an author of several textbooks dealing with the

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

. In addition to teaching in the Norwegian department, Holvik also served as Concordia College band director for twenty-two years. He had the privilege of leading the college band on a tour of Norway during 1935. In 1925, Holvik served as the secretary of national administration committee of the

Norse-American Centennial The Norse-American Centennial celebration was held at the Minnesota State Fair on June 6–9, 1925. Description The event served to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the arrival during 1825 of the Norwegian immigrant ship '' Restauration''. T ...

. Holvik was subsequently knighted by King

Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick V ...

as a member of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. Additional he served as the translator of a number of books which were originally written in the Norwegian language. These included works by both Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

. Holvik also became involved in the national debate over the authenticity of the

Kensington runestone The Kensington Runestone is a slab of greywacke stone covered in runes that was allegedly discovered in central Minnesota in 1898. Olof Öhman, a Swedish immigrant, reported that he unearthed it from a field in the largely rural township of So ...

. Holvik had participated in the

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...

investigation in 1910. Holvik formulated several key arguments used by those who contested the stone's authenticity.

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

professor Erik Wahlgren, referenced many of Holvik's ideas in his 1958 book ''The Kensington Stone: A Mystery Solved''.''Mystery and Obsession: J. A. Holvik and the Case of the Kensington Runestone'' (David A. Sprunger, Minnesota History, pp. 140-154, Fall 2000)
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Personal life

Holvik married Caroline Heltne in Lake Mills, Iowa on April 12, 1912. Holvik died in November 1960. He is buried on the campus of Concordia College.

Selected works

* ''Beginners' Book in Norse'' (Minneapolis, Minn. Augsburg Publishing House. 1910) * ''Second Book in Norse: Literary Selections'' (Minneapolis, Minn. Augsburg Pub. House. 1912)

References

Other sources

* Wahlgren, Erik ''The Kensington Stone: A Mystery Solved'' (1958)

External links

*
Johan Andreas Holvik, Photograph ca. 1923

Inventory of his papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holvik, Johan Andreas 1880 births 1960 deaths People from Howard, South Dakota St. Olaf College alumni St. Olaf College faculty American people of Norwegian descent American Lutherans Linguists from the United States Writers from Minnesota Writers from South Dakota Waldorf University People from Forest City, Iowa 20th-century linguists 20th-century Lutherans