Odd Sverre Lovoll (born October 6, 1934) is a Norwegian-American author, historian and educator.

Background

Odd Sverre Lovoll was born in Sande, in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is t ...

, Norway. He immigrated to the United States in 1946 and is a naturalized United States citizen. Lovoll received his education both in Norway and in the United States, passing university exams at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

in 1961 and 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 ...

in 1966 and 1967. Lovoll graduated from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

(M.A. 1969) and from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

(Ph.D. 1973).

Career

He served on the faculty of the

from 1967 to 1970. For thirty years, Lovoll served on the faculty of

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

. He retired from the King Olav V Chair in Scandinavian-American Studies at St. Olaf College in 2000. Lovoll continues a part-time appointment in History at the University of Oslo. From 1980 until 2001 he served as publication editor for The

Norwegian-American Historical Association Norwegian-American Historical Association is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to locating, collecting, preserving and interpreting the Norwegian-American experience. It publishes scholarly books and maintains a historical arc ...

. In that capacity he edited and supervised publication articles mainly on

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

and

Scandinavian-American Nordic and Scandinavian Americans are Americans of Scandinavian and/or Nordic ancestry, including Danish Americans (estimate: 1,453,897), Faroese Americans, Finnish Americans (estimate: 653,222), Greenlandic Americans, Icelandic Americans (e ...

immigration. He has been published in both Norway and the United States.

Personal life

In 1958 Lovoll married Else Navekvien. They have two children: Audrey born 1960 and Ronald born 1963. Audrey has two children, and Ronald has three, all of which are mentioned in dedication pages in a number of his written works. Lovoll was decorated with the Knight's Cross First Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livi ...

in 1986 by

Olav V of Norway Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Nor ...

. In 1989 he was inducted into membership in The

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Unive ...

. He was inducted into the Scandinavian Hall of Fame at the 2001

Norsk Høstfest Norsk Høstfest (Norwegian language: "''Norwegian Autumn Festival''") is an annual festival held each fall in Minot, North Dakota, US. It is North America's largest Scandinavian festival. History The event is held on the North Dakota State Fair gr ...

.''Odd S. Lovoll, Ph.D.'' (Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame)
/ref>

Selected works

*''A Folk Epic: The Bygdelag in America'' (1975) *''The Promise of America : a History of the Norwegian-American people'' (1983) *''A Century of Urban Life : the Norwegians in Chicago before 1930'' (1988) *''The Promise Fulfilled : a Portrait of Norwegian Americans today'' (1998) *''Norwegians on the Prairie : Ethnicity and the Development of the Country Town'' (2006) *''Norwegian newspapers in America : connecting Norway and the new land'' (2010) *''Across the deep blue sea : the saga of early Norwegian immigrants'' (2015) *''Two Homelands : A Historian Considers His Life and Work'' (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovoll, Odd S. 1934 births Living people People from Sande, Møre og Romsdal Writers from Minnesota Historians from Minnesota 20th-century Norwegian historians University of Oslo alumni University of North Dakota alumni University of Bergen alumni University of Minnesota alumni Norwegian emigrants to the United States Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters University of Minnesota faculty St. Olaf College faculty 21st-century Norwegian historians