Samson Isberg (26 April 1795 – 25 May 1873) was a Norwegian executioner. He served as Norway's official executioner from 1849 to 1868. Among his jobs were the beheading of

Aslak Hætta Aslak Jacobsen Hætta (24 January 1824 – 14 October 1854) was one of the leaders of the Sami revolt in Guovdageaidnu, called the Kautokeino Rebellion, in November 1852. During the riots, the merchant Carl Johan Ruth and the local govern ...

and

Mons Somby Mons Aslaksen Somby (14 February 1825 – 14 October 1854) was one of the leaders of the Sami rioters that attacked several Norwegian shops during the Kautokeino rebellion of 1852. During the uprising a merchant and the town sheriff were ki ...

in 1854, and the last public execution in Christiania, at

Etterstad Etterstad () is a neighborhood in Oslo, located between the river Alna and Strømsveien, north of Vålerenga. It was incorporated into Oslo in 1946, two years before the merger of Oslo and Aker. The area is mainly residential. History The are ...

in 1864. Isberg's axe is exhibited at the Oslo Police Museum.

Personal life

Isberg was born in

Kinsarvik Kinsarvik is a village in the municipality of Ullensvang in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located at the end of a small bay at the confluence of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord, where they join to form the main branch of the Hardan ...

, the son of farmer Samson Samsonsen Stana and Anna Sveinsdatter Skjedås. He was married to Anna Henriche Hansen, and settled 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 o ...

. He died in Bergen in 1873.

Career

Isberg worked as a caretaker at Bergen tukthus. He was assigned executioner for the city of Bergen in 1836, and for Bergen stift and Stavanger amt from 1838. His first commission was in 1841, the execution of Johannes Mikkelsen Eggum from Sogndal, who had killed his wife and son with

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...

. In 1845 he beheaded Ingeborg Olsdatter Grønlien, who had killed her father with an axe. Isberg's third task was the execution of Peder Olsen Ringeneie in 1847. Ringeneie was convicted for the murder of his wife Anne, while his lover Birgit received a life sentence.

Gjest Baardsen Gjest Baardsen (1791 – 13 May 1849) was a Norwegian outlaw, jail-breaker, non-fiction writer, songwriter and memoirist. He was among the most notorious criminals in Norway in the 19th century. Personal life Baardsen was born in Sogndalsfjør ...

wrote a song about the incidents leading to the murder and later execution. In 1849 Isberg was appointed the position of "" (''Executioner of the country'') by the government, thus being the only executioner in Norway. His next commission was the execution of Jens Larsen Halden, who was convicted for robbery and murder. Editor Christian Monsen reported on the execution in his newspaper '' Trondhjems Stiftstidende'', where he particularly focused on the behavior of the audience. The Kautokeino uprising in 1852 resulted in execution of two of the leaders,

and

. The execution took place in Alta on 15 November 1854. Isberg had made the long journey from Bergen to Alta, and about one thousand spectators watched his beheading of the two. Christian Guldbrandsen Harebakken was executed in

Ringsaker is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Brumunddal. Other settlements in Ringsaker include the town of Moelv and the ...

in 1857, convicted for murder and robbery. According to the newspaper ''

Morgenbladet ''Morgenbladet'' is a Norwegian weekly, newspaper, covering politics, culture and science. History ''Morgenbladet'' was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg. The paper is the country's first daily newspaper; however, Adresseavi ...

'' an audience of several thousand persons witnessed the execution. Jakob Johannessen Kvashiller and Even Gloppestuen were beheaded in 1858 and 1860 respectively, both found guilty of murdering their wives. Isberg's tenth execution was Elias Dahlgren, convicted for robbery which led to the death of one of the victims. Dahlgren was executed in

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish mun ...

in 1861. In 1862 Isberg had two assignments, first Ole Anton Sivertsen Moland in

Kabelvåg Kabelvåg is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern shore of the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. Kabelvåg lies about to the southwest of the town of Svolvær, the adminis ...

, who had killed his wife, and then Peder Pedersen Marken, who had killed his mother, and was executed at Ellevoldsmoen in

Rendalen Rendalen is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bergset. Other villages in the municipality include Hanestad, Otn ...

. In 1863 Isberg was responsible for the beheading of Ole Hansen Stokkestadeie in

Vågå Vågå () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågåmo. Other village areas in Vågå include Lalm and Besshe ...

, who was convicted for the murder of two persons. Isberg's last commission was the beheading of Friedrich Wilhelm Priess and Knud Christian Frederik Simonsen, who had murdered a farmer in Christiania. The execution took place at

on 19 April 1864.Sørnes pp. 347–357 This was the last public execution in Christiania, attended by an audience of about 5,000.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isberg, Samson 1795 births 1873 deaths People from Hordaland Norwegian civil servants Norwegian executioners