John Schjelderup Giæver (31 December 1901 – 9 November 1970) was a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
author and polar researcher.
Jónsbú Station
Jonsbu was a Norwegian hunting and radio station (Jonsbu Radio/LMW) located on the coast of Eastern Greenland in present-day King Christian X Land.
Administratively the area where the hut stood belongs now to the Northeast Greenland National Par ...
in NE Greenland was named after him.
Personal life
He was born in
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
in
Troms
Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...
, Norway. He was the son of lawyer John Schjelderup Giæver (1864–1914) and his wife Thyra Høegh (1879–1954).
[Slekten Holmboe gjennom 300 år]
/ref> He was the great-great-great-grandson of Jens Holmboe.
John Schjelderup Giæver married Oddbjørg Jacobsen in March 1940 and they had a son in April the same year. However, the marriage was dissolved. Giæver married Anna Margrethe Gløersen in 1948; this time they had a daughter, born 1954.[
]
Career
He took his secondary education in Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
in 1920, and then moved back to Tromsø. He started a newspaper career, as sub-editor of '' Tromsø Stiftstidende'' from 1921 to 1922. He was editor-in-chief in ''Vesteraalens Avis ''Vesteraalens Avis'' is a Norwegian newspaper, published in Stokmarknes, Norway, and covering the district of Vesterålen. The newspaper was founded in 1892. Among its editors was Nanna With
Nanna Bergitte Caroline With (30 May 1874 – 22 Februa ...
'' from 1922 to 1928 and ''Tromsø Stiftstidende'' from 1928 to 1929. He lived as a trapper
Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management.
History
Neolithic ...
in north-eastern Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
from 1929 to 1934. In 1935 he was hired as secretary for ''Norges Svalbard- og Ishavsundersøkelser'', the Norwegian institution for exploration of Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
and the Arctic Sea,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 opposin ...
, he first fled to London where he worked as a secretary for the exiled government. From 1941 to 1944, he served with the Royal Norwegian Air Force
The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...
-in-exile at Little Norway
Little Norway ( no, Lille Norge), officially (FTL, "Air Force Training Camp"), was a Norwegian Army Air Service/Royal Norwegian Air Force training camp in southern Ontario during the Second World War.
Origins
When Nazi Germany attacked Norway o ...
, Canada. In 1944, with the rank of Major, he was sent to Northern Norway
Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...
to participate in the successful liberation from Nazi occupation. In 1947 he returned to the Norwegian Polar Institute as secretary, and from 1948 to 1960 he was office manager. However, he was still involved in the field as well, leading the wintering party of the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition from 1949 to 1952.[
Giæver published several books. His literary career began with ''Illgjerningsmand'' (''A Misdeeder'') (1921), which was translated into German in 1923. His book ''Maudheim. To år i Antarktis'' (1952), describing the Antarctic Expedition was translated into English, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, German and Croatian. From 1955 on he renewed his literary authorship with numerous books of documentary and partly autobiographical topics, covering Arctic trapping, fishing and warfare.
Other books include ''Ishavets glade borgere'' (1956); ''Langt der oppe mot nord'' (1958), ''Rabagaster under polarstjernen'' (1959), ''Fra min barndoms elv til fjerne veidemarker'' (1960), ''Fra Little Norway til Karasjok'' (1964), ''Med rev bak øret'' (1965), ''Dyretråkk og fugletrekk på 74° nord'' (1967), ''Lys og skygger i sjøgata'' (1969), ''Den gang jeg drog av sted'' (1970) and ''Soldøgn og mørketid'' (1971).]Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
's Founder's Medal in 1956, both for his leadership in the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition.Order of Vasa
The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...
.[ He also received the ]King's Medal of Merit
The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...
in gold and he was a member of the Explorer's Club
The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...
in New York. In 1952, he was awarded the 25th '' Silver Wolf'', the highest commendation of Norwegian Scouting.Oslo
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 ...
.[
]
See also
* Adolf S. Jensen Land
* Jonsbu
References
External links
Family genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giaever, John Schjelderup
1901 births
1970 deaths
Norwegian newspaper editors
Norwegian non-fiction writers
Norwegian World War II memoirists
Norwegian Army Air Service personnel of World War II
Norwegian polar explorers
Explorers of Antarctica
Norwegian expatriates in Canada
Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch
Knights First Class of the Order of Vasa
Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold
Writers from Tromsø
20th-century Norwegian novelists
Norwegian nature writers
Scouting and Guiding in Norway
20th-century non-fiction writers