Theodor Kjerulf (30 March 182525 October 1888) 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 ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. He also served as director of the

Norwegian Geological Survey Geological Survey of Norway ( no, Norges geologiske undersøkelse), abbreviation: ''NGU'', is a Norwegian government agency responsible for geologic mapping and research. The agency is located in Trondheim with an office in Tromsø, with about ...

Biography

He was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Peder Kjerulf (1781–1841) and Elisabet Maria Lasson (1791–1873). He was the brother of composer

Halfdan Kjerulf Halfdan Kjerulf (17 September 181511 August 1868) was a Norwegian composer. Biography Kjerulf was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of a high government official. His early education was at Christiania University, for a lega ...

. He was educated in the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

(now University of Oslo) and subsequently studied in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, working with Karl Georg Bischof in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

and

Robert Wilhelm Bunsen Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (; 30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The Buns ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. In 1858, he was hired as a lecturer at the Royal Frederick University. In 1866 he was promoted to professor of geology. His contributions to the

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

of Norway were numerous. From 1858 to 1888, he served as the first director of the

(''Norges geologiske undersøkelse''), which he had been instrumental in establishing. He also contributed to the systematic and detailed mapping of Norway's bedrock. His principal works were ''Das Christiania Silurbecken'' (1855) and ''Udsigt over det sydlige Norges Geologi'' (1879). From 1856 to 1857 he was the chairman 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 ...

. Kjerulf was a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

from 1869.

Personal life

In 1856, he married Marie Agnes Christiane Anker (1826–1915), daughter of Erik Theodor Christian Bernhardus Anker (1785–1858) and Betzy Sneedorff (1790–1875). She was the sister of Betsy Juliane Charlotte Anker (1830–1912) who married the noted painter

Hans Gude Hans Fredrik Gude (March 13, 1825August 17, 1903) was a Norwegian romanticist painter and is considered along with Johan Christian Dahl to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters. He has been called a mainstay of Norwegian National Roma ...

. Theodor Kjerulf published three collections of poetry; in 1848, 1854 and 1866. In 1855, he was awarded the Crown Prince's Gold Metal (''Kronprinsens gullmedalje'') by the University of Oslo. He became a knight of Order of St. Olav in 1866. He died at

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 ...

in 1888 and was buried at

Vår Frelsers gravlund The Cemetery of Our Saviour ( no, Vår Frelsers gravlund) is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It is located adjacent to the older Old Aker Cemetery and was created in 1808 as a result of the great ...

Selected works

*''Das Christiania Silurbecken'', 1855 *''Stenriket og Fjeldlæren'', 1865 *''Udsigt over det sydlige Norges geologi'', 1879 *''Digte og Skizzer'', 1890

Legacy

Kjerulf Fjord in Northeast

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

Kjerulfbreen Kjerulfbreen (Kjerulf Glacier) is a glacier in Oscar II Land at Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It has a length of about 7.5 kilometers, and is debouching into the Trygghamna bay at the northern side of Isfjorden. The glacier is named after Norwegian ...

and

Kjerulføya Kjerulføya is an island north of Nordaustlandet in Svalbard, Norway. It is named for Theodor Kjerulf. The island is located within Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve ( no, Nordaust-Svalbard naturreservat) is loca ...

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...

Kjerulf Glacier Kjerulf Glacier, , () is a glacier long flowing west from Mount Sugartop to the east side of Newark Bay, on the south coast of South Georgia. It was mapped by Olaf Holtedahl during his visit to South Georgia in 1927–28, and named by him for ...

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger nort ...

, and

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

, are named after him.''Kjerulfbreen'' - Stadnamn i norske polarområde,

Norsk polarinstitutt The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI; no, Norsk Polarinstitutt) is Norway's central governmental institution for scientific research, mapping and environmental monitoring in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The NPI is a directorate under Norway's Mi ...

References

Other sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kjerulf, Theodore 1825 births 1888 deaths Scientists from Oslo University of Oslo alumni University of Oslo faculty 19th-century Norwegian geologists Directors of government agencies of Norway 19th-century Norwegian poets Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour