Samuel Jacob Sesanus Olsen, commonly known as Jacob Olsen (1 October 1904 – October 13, 1994), was a Faroese teacher, writer and translator. He was deeply engaged in the local community and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

as a whole.Lærarfólk i Føroyum 1870-1976. Føroya Lærarafelag. Tórshavn 1976. Page 205.

Biography

Jacob Olsen was born on 1 October 1904 in Sandavági,

. His parents were Peter Joen Pauli Olsen, fisherman, from

Sandavágur Sandavágur ( da, Sandevåg) is a city on the south coast of the Faroese island of Vágar. The name ''Sandavágur'' means ''sandy bay'' and refers to the sandy beach which used to be much larger than present. From one point in Sandavágur you ca ...

and Lisbeth Olsen, born Magnussen, from Leynar.Føroyskir fólkaskúlalærarar 1870-1997. Føroya Lærarafelag. Bókadeildin. Tórshavn 1997. Page 257. Before Jacob Olsen studied at the Faroese Teachers School (''Føroya Læraraskúli''), he worked 15 months in business in

and was at sea for a single year. In 1923 he was admitted to teacher education at the Faroese Teachers School in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

and graduated with a teaching diploma in 1926. 1 September 1926 he was hired by

's School. On 1 February 1961 he became Vice Principal at the same school and held office until his retirement 31 October 1971, at the age of 67. In the period 1928-1931 Jacob Olsen and Sámal Johansen were founders and editors of Barnablaðið (The Child Magazine). The numerous children's stories published in this magazine were the basis of the book ''Nú Breddar'', which the Faroese Union of Teachers released in 1964 on the occasion of Jacob Olsen's 60th birthday. During 1932-1933 Jacob Olsen studied

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, animal raising and plant cultivation at the State Teacher's College. His study of

was extended for another four years. In 1957-1958 he studied

and

librarianship Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...

at the Danish University of Education. For a number of years he was external examiner in written

at secondary school and in 9th and 10th grade. His local activities included serving as member and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the Health Commission in

Froðba Froðba ( da, Frodebø) is a village located farthest out on the north brink of Trongisvágsfjørður, an inlet on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. History The village has eventually merged with the harbour-city of T ...

parish and changing member in the Equation Commission. He was also the organist at the Church of Tvøroyri for almost 25 years. He did a number of translations into Faroese from

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

, and

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. One such work was the children's book '' Kubbin'' by Anne-Cath. Vestly. On 1 October 1933 Jacob Olsen married Olga Maria (born Hansen on 16 October 1903 in

Tvøroyri Tvøroyri is a village on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy island in the Faroe Islands. Together with Froðba, Trongisvágur, Líðin and Øravík it forms Tvøroyri Municipality. The village is considered ...

), daughter of Sigvald and Hansina Hansen from

. (Sigvald was born in Stokke in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

.) Jacob Olsen moved with his wife to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in the early 1970s, where he continued his translation work, and gave private lessons in

until his death of natural causes on 13 October 1994 at the age of 90 years. His wife Olga Olsen died of a cerebral haemorrhage in the year 1978.

Authorship

The Faroese Teachers' Association's Publishing Company has published all of Jacob Olsen's work:https://web.archive.org/web/20160316011632/http://www.bfl.fo/Rith%C3%B8vunda-v%C3%ADsing.aspx?ID=1010&GROUPID=GROUP483 Authorship by Jacob Olsen. * 1951 ''Regin'' in 'Mín jólabók' * 1953 ''Símun og flúgvimaskinan'' in 'Mín jólabók' * 1964 Nú breddar * 1971 ''Høgni og Gunnar'' in 'Sig mær eina søgu 1'

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Samuel Jacob Sesanus 1904 births 1994 deaths Faroese literature Faroese short story writers Faroese writers Faroese language Danish male short story writers