Michael Birkeland (16 December 183024 May 1896) was a Norwegian historian, civil servant and politician. He was born at

Eigersund Eigersund is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is in the traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Egersund. The town was known for its pottery factory (closed in 1979) and it is amo ...

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. In 1855, he was awarded his cand. jur. at the

University of Christiania 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 ...

(now University of Oslo). In 1852, he became an assistant in the

National Archives of Norway The National Archives of Norway (''Riksarkivet'') is the institution responsible for preserving archive material from Norwegian state institutions, as well as contributing to the preservation of private archives. It does this work in cooperation wi ...

(''Riksarkivet''). In 1863, he took over the position of national archivist. He co-founded the

Norwegian Historical Association The Norwegian Historical Association ( no, Den norske historiske forening, HIFO) is a Norwegian historical organization. The Association was founded in 1869 by Michael Birkeland and Ludvig Ludvigsen Daae. It works to promote historical research an ...

in 1869, and edited the academic journal '' Historisk Tidsskrift'' from 1869 to 1879. He was a member of the

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

from 1880 to 1885. He was decorated Knight of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1875.

References

External links

* 1830 births 1896 deaths People from Eigersund University of Oslo alumni Norwegian civil servants 19th-century Norwegian historians Members of the Storting Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour {{Norway-historian-stub