Stian Herlofsen "S. H." Finne-Grønn (31 August 1869 – 1 November 1963) was a Norwegian lawyer, archivist, genealogist and museum director.

Biography

He was born in the town of Risør in

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, en, "East Agder") was a county (''fylke'') in Norway until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . The ...

, Norway. He was the son of engineer Samuel Grønn (1838–1898) and Jacobine Finne (1845–1912). In October 1900 he married Margrethe Borchgrevink (1873–1963), a daughter of

Sofie Borchgrevink Sofie Augusta Pauline Borchgrevink (26 September 1846 – 5 December 1911) was a Norwegian educator. Personal life Born in Christiania on 26 September 1846, Borchgrevink was a daughter of Major General Fredrik Laurentius Klouman and Wilhelmi ...

. They had the sons

Hans Finne-Grønn Hans Fredrik Leganger Finne-Grønn (25 September 1903 – 9 March 2001) was a Norwegian painter. Biography He was born in Kristiania as a son of lawyer and museum director Stian Herlofsen Finne-Grønn (1869–1953) and Margrethe Borchgrevink (18 ...

, a painter, and

Jørgen Finne-Grønn Jørgen Magnus Finne-Grønn (30 July 1905 – 3 October 1998) was a Norwegian diplomat. He was born in Kristiania as a son of genealogist Stian Herlofsen Finne-Grønn (1869–1953) and Margrethe Borchgrevink (1873–1963). He was a brother of pai ...

, an ambassador. He attended the Royal Drafting School (''Den Kongelige Tegneskole'') in Christiania (now Oslo) graduating examen artium in 1888. He worked as an assistant architect in

Christianssand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...

for several years. He graduated

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. ...

from Det Kongelige Frederiks Universitet (now University of Oslo) in 1899. He was a secretary in

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

from 1900 to 1907, then worked in the

National Archival Services of Norway The National Archival Services of Norway ( no, Arkivverket) is a Norwegian government agency that is responsible for keeping state archives, conducts control of public archiving and works to preserve private archives. It is subordinate to the Mi ...

from 1907 to 1914. From 1914 to 1939 he worked in the archival services of the city of Oslo. He also had an early involvement with what is today known as

Oslo City Museum Oslo City Museum (''Oslo Bymuseum'') is a department of Oslo Museum in Oslo, Norway. The museum is located at Frogner Manor (''Frogner Hovedgård'') in Frogner Park (''Frognerparken''). The museum was first founded in 1905 as the association ...

, which developed from the organization ''Foreningen Det gamle Christiania'' in 1905. He became curator of this organization in 1912, and was the director from 1920 to 1949. His first genealogical work was about lineages in his native Risør, and was published in several volumes between 1895 and 1901. In 1906 he created the periodical ''Norsk tidsskrift for genealogi, personalhistorie, biografi og litteraturhistorie'', which was Norway's first periodical on genealogy. Editors were Finne-Grønn, Erik Andreas Thomle and

Christoffer Morgenstierne Munthe Christopher Morgenstierne Munthe 14 July 1875 – 21 December 1939) was a Norwegian civil servant, military officer and genealogist. Biography He was a born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of colonel and historian Hartvig Andreas M ...

. Norway did not have a national genealogical society, rather there was a Dano-Norwegian organization ''Samfundet for dansk-norsk Genealogi og Personalhistorie''. Finne-Grønn chaired the Norwegian branch from 1919 to 1920. In 1926 Finne-Grønn founded the Norwegian Genealogical Society together with Munthe and

Sigurd Segelcke Meidell Sigurd Segelcke Meidell (20 February 1878 – 26 July 1968) was a Norwegian journalist, genealogist and novelist. Biography He was born in Bergen as a son of sea captain Hartvig Segelcke Meidell (1834–1902) and Malin Gohde (1847–1895). His fa ...

, among others. He was the first chairman from 1926 to 1929, and as the organization launched a new periodical ''Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift'', Finne-Grønn edited it from 1926 to 1936 and from 1947 until his death in 1963. Finne-Grønn was decorated as a Knight, First Class 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 1945. In 1942, he was created an honorary member of the Norwegian Genealogical Society and the

Genealogical Society of Finland The Genealogical Society of Finland ( fi, Suomen Sukututkimusseura, sv, Genealogiska Samfundet i Finland) is a national voluntary non-governmental organisation promoting the study of genealogy and social history in Finland. The Society itself do ...

. A festschrift was issued in his honor at the time of his seventy-fifth birthday in 1944. He died in Oslo in 1963, aged 94, and was buried at Vestre gravlund.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finne-Groenn, Stian 1869 births 1963 deaths People from Risør University of Oslo alumni Writers from Oslo Architects from Oslo Norwegian archivists Norwegian genealogists Directors of museums in Norway Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Burials at Vestre gravlund