Torfinn Skard (20 January 1891 – 11 June 1970) was a Norwegian

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, teacher, librarian and author.

Personal life

He was born at Faaberg in

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The c ...

, Norway. He was a son of educator

Matias Skard Matias Skard (28 May 1846 – 28 July 1927) was a Norwegian philologist, educator, psalmist, essayist and translator. Biography Matias Olsen Skard was born on a family farm at Øyer in Gudbrandsdal, Norway. He had planned to study theology but ...

(1846–1927) and his second wife Nilsine Kristiane Myhre (1860–1891). He was a nephew of Johannes Skar, Christopher Bruun and Per Bø and a half-brother of Olav Skard (a son of Matias from his first marriage) and

Bjarne Bjarne is a Nordic male name, a variant of Bjorn, and can refer to the following people: * Bjarne Andersson, a cross-country skier * Bjarne Berg-Sæther, a Norwegian politician * Bjarne Berntsen, a Norwegian football coach and former player * B ...

, Eiliv and

Sigmund Skard Sigmund Skard (31 July 1903 – 26 May 1995) was a Norwegian poet, essayist and professor of American literature. Biography Skard was born in Kristiansand, Norway. He was a son of educators Matias Skard (1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868� ...

(whom Matias had by his third wife). Torfinn's mother died in childbirth after having him. Torfinn married Aagot Sofie Lien (1898–1973) in December 1922 in

Solum The solum (plural, sola) in soil science consists of the surface and subsoil layers that have undergone the same soil forming conditions. The base of the solum is the relatively unweathered parent material. Solum and soils are not synonymous. Som ...

. When Sigmund Skard married

Åse Gruda Skard Åse Gruda Skard (née Koht) (2 December 1905 – 13 August 1985) was a Norwegian university professor, child psychologist and author. She was a noted pioneer in the field of childhood development and psychology. Biography She was born at ...

, Åsa became Torfinn's sister-in-law, and he was thereby also an uncle of Målfrid Grude Flekkøy, Torild Skard and

Halvdan Skard Halvdan Skard (born 1 December 1939) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was born in Oslo as a son of Åse Gruda Skard and Sigmund Skard, and through Åse the grandson of Halvdan Koht and Karen Grude Koht. He has two sisters Toril ...

Career

Torfinn Skard was an apprentice in horticulture at three different schools between 1907 and 1911, studied at two different folk schools including Askov folkehøiskole in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

from 1916-17. He studied at the

Norwegian College of Agriculture The Norwegian University of Life Sciences ( no, Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Norway. It is located at Ås in Viken, near Oslo, and at Adamstuen in Oslo and has around 5,200 stud ...

at Ås in Akershus from 1917 to 1919. He worked at Telemark School of Agriculture (''Telemark Landbruksskole'') at Søve from 1919 to 1958. He also led Telemark Agricultural Library from 1936 to 1958. He wrote several historical books about Norwegian horticulture, as well as the textbook ''Dyrking av grønnsaker, frukt og bær'' (1937). His main work was ''Hagebruk og gartneri i Norge'' (1963). His own book collection was donated to the Norwegian College of Agriculture. In 1961 he was awarded the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

(''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') in gold. He died in June 1970 at

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...

References

1891 births 1970 deaths People from Oppland Norwegian College of Agriculture alumni Norwegian expatriates in Denmark Norwegian educators Norwegian horticulturists Norwegian librarians Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold {{Norway-bio-stub