Nils Andreas Økland (10 June 1882 – 1969) 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 the ...

Esperantist An Esperantist ( eo, esperantisto) is a person who speaks, reads or writes Esperanto. According to the Declaration of Boulogne, a document agreed upon at the first World Esperanto Congress in 1905, an Esperantist is someone who speaks Esperanto ...

and teacher in Stord (Hordaland), Norway. He spent some years in his youth on the island

Utsira Utsira () is the smallest municipality in Norway. The island municipality is located in northwestern Rogaland county, just off the western coast of Norway. Utsira is part of the traditional district of Haugaland. The municipality consists of t ...

, where his father was a school teacher. Nils Økland was married to Hanna Olava Bergstøl, and they had 3 sons. His father Matthias Larsen Økland (b. 1844) was also a school teacher and a church chorister; his mother was Signi Nilsdatter (b. 1853) from

Eidsvåg Eidsvåg may refer to: People * Bjørn Eidsvåg, a Norwegian singer, songwriter and priest Places * Eidsvåg, Nesset, a village in Molde municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway * Eidsvåg, Bergen, a neighbourhood in the city of Bergen in V ...

. Having learned

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

indirectly through his friend Haldor Midthus by 1904, he served as president on the executive council of Stord's Norwegian Esperanto League branch.

Brief biography

Born in Valestrand in 1882, Økland was confirmed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1896; the parish priest made particular note of his "knowledge, diligence and conduct with distinction." By 1900 he was a student at a Stord teachers training college. Beginning in the spring of 1904, Økland taught Esperanto courses at the Bethania Waisenhus in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

. Under the direction of the Stavanger parish priest, the Bethania complex, housing about 150 orphans in three asylum buildings and a further 20 to 30 young offenders in a separate

youth detention center In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...

Lindøy Lindøy is an island in the Byfjorden in Stavanger municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island lies about northeast of the centre of the city of Stavanger. It sits in an archipelago surrounded by the islands of Vassøy, Hellesøy, and ...

, operated a printing shop producing newspapers,

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and books. In the early period of the

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

's growth he propagated the

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among his colleagues and through newspaper and magazine articles. In 1910 and 1912 he taught adult Esperanto courses in

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

, and in 1932 he taught a children's Esperanto course in Stord. Økland was a school inspector in

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 ...

for some years. He was also Stord's

county mayor A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

''(ordførar)'' from 1932 to 1934, representing the party Venstre.
''Utdrag arkivkatalog Stord 1838–1965'' in Interkommunalt arkiv Hordaland (Norwegian)

Author

Økland wrote a book of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, ''Heime og ute'', (Home and abroad), published in

Kristiania 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 ...

(Oslo) by Olaf Norlis forlag in 1917. This book contains 27 poems, and it includes translations of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

and

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

. In 1940 he wrote a short

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David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

, published by Norsk Bokreidingslag in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. Both books were written in

nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-Nor ...

''Øklandhuset''

During his time as the schoolteacher in Haugesund, Økland had had a simple house built just west of the school.Fra Nærbutikk til Supermarked
(From Neighbourhood Store to Supermarket (Norwegian), a history of stores in Torvastad, ca.1900–1997 After World War II that house, still known as ''Øklandhuset'' ("Økland's house") was owned by Sofie Håland, who lived on the main floor and rented out the other two floors to Agnes Vikshåland, a seamstress. She kept her sewing studio in the attic and also operated a store in the basement. Økland died in

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oekland, Nils 1882 births 1969 deaths Norwegian Esperantists Norwegian resistance members People from Hordaland People from Stord