Ole Andreas Krogness (23 May 1886 – 28 May 1934) was a Norwegian physicist. He worked for the establishment of a geophysical institute in Tromsø, and served as the institute's manager from 1918 to 1922. He was instrumental in many geophysical accomplishments in northern Norway in the early 20th century.

Early life and career

Krogness was born in Trondhjem as a son of

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Ole Andreas Tangen Krogness (1832–1887) and Christiane Augusta Lindeman (1850–1928). On the paternal side he was a grandson of businessperson and politician Ole Andreas Krogness,''Personalhistorie for Trondhjems by og omegn i et tidsrum af circa 1 1/2 aarhundrede''
by Chr. Thaulow. Hosted by Trondheim public library. and on the maternal side he was a great-grandson of

Ole Andreas Lindeman Ole Andreas Lindeman (17 January 1769 – 26 February 1857) was a Norwegian musician, organist, composer and music educator. He was born in the parish of Øye in Surnadal, Norway. After graduating from Trondheim Cathedral School, Lindeman att ...

and a nephew of Anna Lindeman and Hans Thorvald Lindeman. He took the examen artium in 1904, and graduated from the Royal Frederick University with the

cand.real. Candidatus realium or candidata realium (abbreviated cand. real.) is a former academic degree used in Norway, and conferred in mathematics and natural sciences. It was abolished in 1985. There was originally no set duration for the completion of th ...

degree in 1912. From 1908 he worked as an assistant of Kristian Birkeland. In June 1912 in Kristiania he married Dagny Vegerd Guldberg (1887–1978), and became a son-in-law of physician Carl Johan Guldberg. His daughter Synnøve, born 1915, married economist Leif Holbæk-Hanssen.

Later career

In 1912 Krogness was hired as manager of the aurora borealis observatory at Haldde in

Kåfjord, Alta Kåfjord is a village in Alta Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along the Kåfjorden, about west of the town of Alta along the European route E6 highway. The village of Kvenvik lies about to the east, ...

. He also lived there with his family, and from 1915 he had company by fellow researcher

Olaf Devik Olaf Martin Devik (20 December 1886 – 14 April 1987) was a Norwegian physicist and civil servant. He worked in academia until 1938, when he became an official in the Norwegian Ministry of Church and Education. During the German occupation of N ...

. The two successfully suggested the establishment of a geophysical institute in Tromsø; both moved there to work in 1918. Krogness was the institute's manager from 1918 to 1922. Their work culminated in the establishment of "Værvarslinga for Nord-Norge", the weather forecast of

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 ...

, in 1922. Krogness also founded the magnetical observatory at Dombås in 1916, and in

Tromsø Museum Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the 2 ...

he was a board member from 1919 to 1923 and chairman from 1923 to 1928. He co-founded the nationwide ''Norsk Geofysisk Forening'' and chaired it from 1927 to 1928, and also founded the local branch of the

Norwegian Polytechnic Society The Polytechnic Society ( no, Polyteknisk Forening) is a Norwegian member network that inspires a science-based and sustainable development, through technology and interdisciplinary partnerships. It was founded in 1852 in Christiania (now: Oslo). Th ...

in Tromsø. He also co-founded the ''Komiteen for de Vitenskapelige Institusjoner i Tromsø'', which proposed the establishment of a university in Northern Norway (the University of Tromsø opened in 1972). From 1928 he was a professor in terrestrial magnetism and physical cosmology at Bergen Museum. He died in May 1934 in Fana. He was decorated with the Légion d'honneur and the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

. In 1937 a stone monument to him was unveiled at Nesttun Church, and a road in Tromsø has been named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krogness, Ole Andreas 1886 births 1934 deaths Scientists from Trondheim University of Oslo alumni Norwegian physicists Norwegian geophysicists Norwegian meteorologists Cosmologists Knights of the Legion of Honour