Karen Grude Koht (16 November 1871– 10 July 1960) was a Norwegian educationalist, essayist and feminist pioneer.

Biography

She was born at

Høyland Høyland is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality was located at the innermost end of the Gandsfjorden in the western part of the present-day municipality of Sandnes. The munic ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

, Norway. She was the daughter of Martin Adolf Grude (1841-1918) and Anna Karoline Mossige (1849-1910). In 1893 she traveled to Kristiania (now

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 ...

) to attend Ragna Nielsens skole. In 1896, she passed the teacher's test and started her working career as a teacher in

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway and together, the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies ...

. She taught from 1911 at the State School of Education at

Stabekk Stabekk is a suburban centre in the municipality of Bærum, Norway, west of Oslo. It is predominantly a residential area, with many residents commuting to Oslo. As of 2005 the population was 6,261. Bærum has the highest income per capita and the hi ...

, from 1920 at social courses offer through the

Norwegian National Women's Council The Norwegian National Women's Council ( no, italic=no, Norske Kvinners Nasjonalråd) was founded on 8 January 1904 as an umbrella organization for the various Norwegian women's associations. It was established by Gina Krog whose international co ...

and from 1923 at Den kvinnelige industriskole in Oslo. She was also a deputy member of

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

and was a member of the Bærum school board 1918-24. The

(''Norske Kvinners Nasjonalråd'') was founded in 1904 as an umbrella organization for the various Norwegian women's associations. She served as a member of the organization together with fellow rights activists Betzy Kjelsberg,

Fredrikke Marie Qvam Fredrikke Marie Qvam (née Gram) (31 May 184310 September 1938) was a Norwegian humanitarian leader, feminist, liberal politician and the wife of Prime Minister Ole Anton Qvam. She was the founder (1896) of the Norwegian Women's Public Health Ass ...

Gina Krog Jørgine Anna Sverdrup "Gina" Krog (20 June 1847 – 14 April 1916) was a Norwegian suffragist, teacher, liberal politician, writer and editor, and a major figure in liberal feminism in Scandinavia. She played a central role in the Norwegian l ...

and Katti Anker Møller. She was a diligent writer in newspapers and magazines, in addition to translating books into Norwegian. Among her works are ''ABC. Mi fyrste bok'' from 1921 and ''Regler og rim for barn'' from 1923. In 1937, she completed ''Pedagogisk psykologi'' together with her daughter,

Åse Gruda Skard Åse Gruda Skard (née Koht) (2 December 1905 – 13 August 1985) was a Norwegian university professor, child psychologist and author. She was a noted pioneer in the field of childhood development and psychology. Biography She was born at ...

Personal life

In 1898, she married the noted historian

Halvdan Koht Halvdan Koht (7 July 1873 – 12 December 1965) was a Norwegian historian and politician representing the Labour Party. Born in the north of Norway to a fairly distinguished family, he soon became interested in politics and history. Star ...

. They were the parents of psychologist

and diplomat

Paul Koht Paul Gruda Koht (7 December 1913 – 26 March 2002) was a Norwegian diplomat. Personal life He was born in Bærum as a son of Halvdan Koht (1873–1965) and Karen Grude Koht 1871–1960. He was a brother of Åse Gruda Skard. He was a grandson of ...

. Their grandchildren include

Torild Skard Torild Skard (born 29 November 1936) is a Norwegian psychologist, politician for the Socialist Left Party, a former Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a former Chairman of UNICEF. She served as a Member of Parliame ...

, Målfrid Grude Flekkøy and

Halvdan Skard Halvdan Skard (born 1 December 1939) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was born in Oslo as a son of Åse Gruda Skard and Sigmund Skard, and through Åse the grandson of Halvdan Koht and Karen Grude Koht. He has two sisters Toril ...

. She died at Bærum during 1960 and was buried at

Nordre gravlund Nordre Gravlund is a cemetery located between Ullevål University Hospital and the district of Sagene in Oslo, Norway. History The cemetery was first established on the site in 1884. The cemetery has been expanding several times and now has an ...

in Oslo.

Selected works

*''Kvinnearbeid'', 1908 *''Barna våre. Litt fra deres sjeleliv'', 1929 *'' Norske kvinners nasjonalråd 25 år'', 1929 *''Farmor fortel for dei minste'', 1960

Biography

Personal life

Selected works

References

Related reading