Adolf Gundersen (October 8, 1865 – August 28, 1938) was a Norwegian born, American physician and founder of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center.

Background

Adolf Gundersen was born in the parish of Åsnes in the traditional region of

Solør Solør is a Norwegian traditional district consisting of the valley between Elverum in the north and Kongsvinger in the south. It is part of Innlandet county and it includes Våler Municipality, Åsnes Municipality, and Grue Municipality. G ...

in the county of

Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He received his professional training in Norway and graduated from the Royal

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in 1890.

Career

Gundersen came to

La Crosse La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 20 ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

to join the medical practice of Christian Christensen. In 1893, he married Helga Sara Isaksetre (1867–1951), with whom he had eight children. Four of the sons, Gunnar, Alf, Sigurd B. Sr. and Thorolf, joined their father in his first clinic, which opened in 1930 on the outskirts of the city. In 1944, Gundersen's physician sons created Gundersen Medical Foundation (now the foundation supporting Gundersen Health System). His eldest son, Borge, was in charge of Røisen, the Gundersen estate in Solør, Norway. Dr. Gundersen received Knighthood in the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olaf, first rank, from King Haakon of Norway in 1926. He was made an honorary member of The Medical Society of Oslo (''Det norske medicinske Selskab'') in 1933. He was a Fellow of the

American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a professional medical association for surgeons and surgical team members, founded in 1913. It claims more than 90,000 members in 144 countries. History The ACS was founded in 1913 as an outgrowth of ...

and in the Scandinavian Surgical Society, an honorary member of the Christiania Surgical Society. He was also a Regent of the

University of Wisconsin System The University of Wisconsin System is a state public university system in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is one of the largest public higher-education systems in the country, enrolling more than 160,000 students each year and employing approx ...

. Dr. Gundersen was inducted into the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame in 2013.

Quotation

References

Other sources

*Bergland, Betty A.; Lori Ann Lahlum (2011) ''Norwegian American Women: Migration, Communities, and Identities'' (Minnesota Historical Society) *Hessel, Susan T. (1991) ''Medicine, the Gundersen experience, 1891-1991'' (Gundersen Clinic, La Crosse, Wisconsin) *Midelfort, H. Christine ''A Norwegian Immigrant's Accommodation To America: The Early Letters of Dr. Adolf Gundersen'' (Peninsula Nordic Study Circle Lecture Series. 2005–2006) *Orgensen, Ole (1982) ''Adolf Gundersen og hans sønner"'' (''Nordmanns-Forbundet'', 90–93) *Strand, A. E. (1905) ''A History of the Norwegians of Illinois'' (Chicago: John Anderson Publishing Company)

External links

Adolf and Helga Gundersen Bronze Sculpture, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gundersen, Adolf 1865 births 1938 deaths Norwegian surgeons Physicians from Wisconsin American surgeons People from La Crosse, Wisconsin People from Åsnes Norwegian emigrants to the United States Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal