Ola Thommessen (23 September 1851 – 10 February 1942) 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 ...

newspaper editor. He was the long-time editor of ''

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

'' and ''

Tidens Tegn ''Tidens Tegn'' (Norwegian: ''Sign of the Times'') is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1910 to 1941. Editors The founder and first editor-in-chief of ''Tidens Tegn'' was Ola Thommessen, who edited the newspaper until 1917. Tho ...

''.

Early and personal life

Olaus Anthon Thommessen Holtan was born in Borre as the son of Thommes Kristoffersen Holtan (1817–1901) and Hella Marie Andersdatter (1824–1893). He was married twice, and was the father of newspaper editor

Rolf Thommessen Rolf Thommessen (22 July 1879 – 9 December 1939) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor and politician. He edited the newspaper ''Tidens Tegn'' from 1917 to 1938. He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1928 to 1930, represe ...

. Thommessen studied at Heltberg's "student factory", and took the

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1870. He started studying

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

, but abandoned the education to study law, finishing his

cand.jur. Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. ...

degree in 1877.

Professional career

Thommessen started working for ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...

'' in 1875. He worked for ''

'' from 1876, and as editor-in-chief from 1878 to 1910. Under his leadership ''Verdens Gang'' became the main publication for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, and a modern newspaper of high standard. The leadership period included the period of political turmoil in the 1880s. The newspaper supported the

and

Johan Sverdrup Johan Sverdrup (30 July 1816 – 17 February 1892) was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party. He was the first prime minister of Norway after the introduction of parliamentarism and served as the 4th prime minister of Norway. Sverdrup was ...

, and their endeavors to form a cabinet. Thommessen frequently corresponded with the writer

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

at this time, and was also a friend of

Lars Holst Lars Kristian Holst (22 November 1848 – 31 May 1915) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor and politician. Biography Holst was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the son of shipmaster Søren Dalholt Holst (1811–84) and Catharina Krohn (18 ...

Oda Krohg Oda Krohg (born Othilia Pauline Christine Lasson; 11 June 1860 – 19 October 1935) was a Norwegian painter, and the wife of her teacher and colleague Christian Krohg. Biography She was the second daughter of public attorney Christian ...

Mathilde Schjøtt Mathilde Schjøtt (née Dunker) (19 February 1844 – 13 January 1926) was a Norwegian writer, literary critic, biographer and feminist. She made her literary debut with the anonymous ''Venindernes samtale om Kvindens Underkuelse'' in 1871. S ...

as well as Maren,

Ossian Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora'' (1763), and later combined under t ...

and

Ernst Sars Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars (11 October 1835 – 27 January 1917) was a Norwegian professor, historian, author and editor. His main work was ''Udsigt over den norske Historie'', four volumes issued from 1873 to 1891. He co-edited the magazines ...

. Thommessen was a controversial person, and he is targeted in

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, perspective a ...

's novel ''Redaktør Lynge'' (1893), which is regarded as a personal attack on Thommessen, one of the strongest in the history of Norwegian literature. The novel still received good reviews in ''Verdens Gang''. Not long after the Liberal Party succeeded, and Johan Sverdrup became Prime Minister, Thommessen became estranged from the party. Around the turn of the century he instead advocated a bourgeois coalition in light of the growing socialist movement. Still, many of his political views aligned with those of the Liberal Party, such as universal suffrage for men which was introduced in 1898. Thommessen left ''Verdens Gang'' in 1910, and founded the newspaper ''

'', which he led until 1917. The incidents leading to his resignation, a conflict with lawyer and share owner Ole Madsen, made him a legend. Among the outcomes was the formation of

Norwegian Press Association The Norwegian Press Association ( no, Norsk Presseforbund, NP) is Norwegian association established in 1910, for press people with journalism as their main profession. Among its members are the Norwegian Union of Journalists, the Association of Nor ...

in 1910. ''Tidens Tegn'' soon became one of the country's most important and largest newspapers, and many important cultural personalities were among the contributors, including Sven Elvestad,

Olaf Bull Olaf Jacob Martin Luther Breda Bull (10 November 1883 – 29 June 1933) was a Norwegian poet. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature six times. Biography Olaf Bull was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. His parents were autho ...

Hans E. Kinck Hans Ernst Kinck (; 11 October 1865 – 13 October 1926) was a Norwegian author and philologist who wrote novels, short stories, dramas, and essays. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times. Life Kinck was born in Øksfjo ...

Herman Wildenvey Herman Wildenvey (20 July 1885 – 27 September 1959), born Herman Theodor Portaas, was one of the most prominent Norwegian poets of the twentieth century. During his lifetime he published 44 books of his own poetry, in addition to translati ...

, Nils Collett Vogt and

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...

. In 1920 his sons took over as editors of ''Tidens Tegn''. The newspaper bought ''Verdens Gang'' in 1923. He was a member of the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...

. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

Thommessen was known for his

anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

. He was skeptic to the

Norwegian Parliament 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 base ...

, and advocated a strong bourgeois leadership as a leading member of

Fedrelandslaget The Fatherland League ( no, Fedrelandslaget) was a Norwegian right-wing, anti-communist political organisation in the interwar period. Founded in 1925, the movement aimed to unite all centre-to-right forces against the rise of the revolutionar ...

. Thommessen also wrote several books. He died in 1942, 91 years old, surviving both his sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thommessen, Ola 1851 births 1942 deaths People from Horten Norwegian newspaper editors Fatherland League (Norway) Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people