Olaf Alfred Hoffstad
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Olaf Alfred Hoffstad (18 March 186515 September 1943) 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 ...
botanist, writer,
school principal A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...
and
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
politician. Born in the mid-Norwegian city of Stjørdal to a mercantile family, he initially embarked on an educational career. Having taught at girls' schools across the country in the early 1890s, he was permanently employed at two universal schools in
Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...
, a city whose political life he influenced in the latter part of his life. During his schooldays Hoffstad read voraciously, developing a passion for botany that never left him. His first botanical book was published in 1891; it sold well, being released in nine revised editions before Hoffstad's decease during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He also wrote
floras Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
intended for use in schools, the most prominent of which was published in six editions. In the 1890s Hoffstad travelled widely, searching for new
plant species Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms ''gut flora'' or ''skin flora''. Ety ...
hitherto undiscovered. In the
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
middle-class city of Sandefjord, Hoffstad engaged himself politically: in 1894 he was elected chairman of a local conservative youth league. Two years later, he entered the Sandefjord city council, which catapulted him into the political limelight: for 23 years he was the city's mayor, and later served as deputy representative for the Conservative Party in 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 bas ...
. A patriotic citizen of Sandefjord, Hoffstad was member of numerous boards of directors in the city.


Biography

Hoffstad was born in Stjørdalshalsen, Nordre Trondhjems Amt, a son of the tradesman Oliver Hoffstad (1830–1878) and his wife Anne Birgitte Øydahl (1843–1932). In 1883, then aged 18, the young Hoffstad
finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...
secondary education at Trondhjem Cathedral School, graduating with a
cand.real. Candidatus realium or candidata realium (abbreviated cand. real.) is a former academic degree used in Norway, and conferred in mathematics and natural sciences. It was abolished in 1985. There was originally no set duration for the completion of th ...
degree five years later. He subsequently taught at girls' schools in
Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
,
Egersund Egersund is a town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger. The town is situated along a strait which separates the mainland from the ...
, Haugesund and
Røros Røros ( sma, Plaassja, ) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Some of the villages in Røros include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen. The min ...
for shorter periods before and after 1890. In the latter year he married Valborg Olsen, a photographer's daughter three years his junior. They had a son,
Einar Hoffstad Einar Hoffstad (4 September 1894 – 25 July 1959) was a Norwegian encyclopedist, newspaper editor, writer and economist. He remains best known as the editor of the encyclopedia ''Merkantilt biografisk leksikon'' and the business periodical ''Fa ...
, who became an economist and encyclopedist. On 1 August 1892 he was employed by the Sandefjord Upper Secondary School ( no, Sandefjords høiere almenskole), at which school he would teach for the remainder of his productive life. From the beginning he was hired as secondary teacher , but advanced positions over time, becoming both adjunct teacher and lecturer. In 1924, then aged 59, he was appointed principal of the school—he quit teaching at Sandefjord Technical Evening School ( no, Sandefjords Tekniske Aftenskole) in the same year, where he had lectured concurrently with his teaching at the Upper Secondary School. In 1891, he published ''Norsk Flora'', a
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
for Norwegian schools which was published in eight further editions before Hoffstad's decease in 1943. He also published another illustrated Flora for Norwegian schools, entitled ''Flora for skoler'' (1899). In the summers of 1896 and 1897, Hoffstad travelled from the estuary of the
Trondheimsfjord The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from the municipality of Ørland i ...
to Leka, a village at the border between Nordland and Nord-Trøndelag counties. He wrote an article for the journal ''Nyt Magasin for Naturvidenskaberne'' in 1899 where he described what he had observed, amongst other things the discovery of ''
Utricularia ochroleuca ''Utricularia ochroleuca'', the yellowishwhite bladderwort, pale bladderwort, or cream-flowered bladderwort, is a small, perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus ''Utricularia''. It is usually found affixed to the substrate. ''U. o ...
'' in Northern Norway. Hoffstad was also engaged in politics. In 1894, he became leader of a conservative youth league in Sandefjord. He became a member of Sandefjord city council in 1897, and became deputy mayor already in 1898. From 1911 to 1934, he served as mayor for Sandefjord, the longest time any major not born in the city ever had served. Whilst serving as mayor, Hoffstad wrote two treatises on the management of municipal finances in the city: ''Kommunale finanser'' (1926) and ''Sandefjords kommunale økonomi i tiåret 1922—1932'' (1933). He also represented the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
in the Parliament of Norway as a deputy representative in the 1919–21, 1922–24 and 1931–33 terms. His constituency was ''Larvik og Sandefjord'', from 1922 changed to the Market towns of Vestfold county. He chaired the board of the newspaper ''
Sandefjords Blad ''Sandefjords Blad'' is a newspaper published daily in Sandefjord, Norway, except on Sundays. It is available in Norwegian language only. Sandefjords Blad is a private company, owned by Mecom with a circulation of 14,780 copies (2004) and 50 empl ...
'', and was a board member of Vestfold Kraftselskap from 1921 to 1929, Sandefjord Sparebank, the local gas works, electricity plant and cinema as well as the teachers' union ''Filologenes og Realistenes Landsforening''. He founded a regional branch of the
Union of Norwegian Cities The Union of Norwegian Cities ( no, Norges Byforbund) was an employers' organisation in Norway. It was founded in 1903. Hans Thomas Knudtzon has been credited with taking the initiative. Its headquarters were in the street ''Arbiens gate'', later ...
in 1921, and chaired it until 1934. He died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
in September 1943. At the deathbed, he proofread the ninth edition of ''Norsk Flora'', which was published posthumously in 1944.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffstad, Olaf Alfred 1865 births 1943 deaths People from Stjørdal People from Sandefjord 20th-century Norwegian botanists Norwegian schoolteachers Mayors of places in Vestfold Deputy members of the Storting Conservative Party (Norway) politicians People educated at the Trondheim Cathedral School 19th-century Norwegian botanists