Leiv Amundsen (30 May 1898 – 25 June 1987) was a Norwegian librarian and philologist. He was born in Tjøme as a son of sailmaker Carl Amundsen (1851–1916) and Henrikke Elise Andersen (1857–1923). He attended upper secondary school in Drammen, and worked at the

University Library of Oslo The University of Oslo Library ( no, Universitetsbiblioteket i Oslo, UBO) is a library connected to the University of Oslo. Like the university, it was established in 1811 with Georg Sverdrup as the first head librarian. It originally doubled a ...

at the same time as studying classical philology at the Royal Frederick University. He never actually graduated from the university, but was instead promoted manager of the manuscript collection at the University Library in 1923. He specialized in papyrology, first as the assistant of

Samson Eitrem Samson Eitrem (28 December 1872 – 8 July 1966) was a Norwegian philologist, an expert in ancient literature, religion and magic. Personal life Eitrem was born in Kragerø to Samson Eitrem (1832–1923) and Anine Marie Nielsen, and he was a brot ...

. He was a research fellow with

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 ...

s from 1926 to 1929, and studied abroad. Among others he was a part of the University of Michigan Archaeological Expedition in Karanis, and published ''Greek Ostraca in the University of Michigan Collection. Part I. Texts'' in 1935. He took the

dr.philos. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

degree in 1933, and was hired as a docent at the Royal Frederick University in 1935. He was promoted to professor in 1946. Amundsen was also secretary-general of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters from 1954 to 1961. He had been a fellow of the Academy since 1935. He retired in 1968. Throughout his career he published diaries and letters of Bernhard Herre, Camilla Collett,

Peter Jonas Collett Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and Henrik Wergeland. In 1976 he co-published the correspondence between Johan Ernst Gunnerus and Carl von Linné between 1761 and 1772. He also published the two-volume history of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, in 1957 and 1960, and wrote large parts of the two-volume work on the University of Oslo from 1911 to 1961. He also contributed significantly to the first edition of '' Norsk biografisk leksikon'', and edited '' Gyldendals nye konversasjonsleksikon'', issued in four editions between 1948 and 1958. From May 1928 Amundsen was married to Inger Sandberg (1898–1985). He died in June 1987 in Bærum. He had lived at Stabekk and Capralhaugen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amundsen, Leiv 1898 births 1987 deaths People from Tjøme Academic staff of the University of Oslo Librarians from Oslo Norwegian philologists Classical philologists Papyrologists Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters University of Michigan people 20th-century philologists