Anders Platou Wyller (24 April 1903 - 2 October 1940) was a Norwegian philologist and humanist.

Biography

Wyller was born at

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

, Norway. He was the son of Thomas Christian Wyller (1858-1921) and Birgitte Platou (1862-1922). His sister, Ingrid Wyller (1896-1994), was associated with the Norwegian Nurses Association and Norwegian Red Cross Nursing School in Oslo. In 1922, he began studying at the

University of Christiania The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

from which he earned his cand.philol. in 1933. Between 1929 and 1936, he lived in Paris. From 1933 to 1936, Wyller was a lector in the Norwegian language at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. He got his doctoral thesis in 1937 with ''

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

. En kristen dikter og hans drama''. The same year he created the

Nansenskolen The Nansen Academy – Norwegian Humanistic Academy () is a folk high school in Lillehammer, Norway. History Nansen Academy was founded as a humanist and anti-totalitarian Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that pr ...

(Norwegian Humanist Academy) together with Kristian Schjelderup and

Henriette Bie Lorentzen Henriette Bie Lorentzen (18 July 1911 – 23 August 2001), born Anna Henriette Wegner Haagaas, was a Norwegian journalist, humanist, peace activist, feminist, co-founder of the Nansen Academy, resistance member and concentration camp survivor du ...

. After

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung ( , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was the invasion of Denmark and Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 April 1940 (, "Weser Day"), Ge ...

, Nazi Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway on April 9, 1940, Wyller applied to work with the allied forces and was sent for North Norway working for the radio. When the cruiser HMS ''Devonshire'' left

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

for England, Wyller was aboard with the Norwegian

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

Crown Prince Olav Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wa ...

and several members of the Norwegian

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. He worked a short time for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

before he was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. He was returned by airplane to Sweden where he met his family before he died on 2 October 1940 and was buried at

Vestre gravlund Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen (station), Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a cremator ...

in Oslo.

Works

* ''Paul Claudel: en kristen dikter og hans drama'' (Oslo: Aschehoug. 1936) * ''Kjempende humanisme: artikler og taler'' (Oslo: Aschehoug. 1947)

Personal life

He married Anne-Marie Strindberg (born 1902), daughter of the author

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

and

Harriet Bosse Harriet Sofie Bosse (19 February 1878 – 2 November 1961) was a Swedish–Norwegian actress. A celebrity in her day, Bosse is now most commonly remembered as the third wife of the playwright August Strindberg. Bosse began her career in a min ...

. They were the parents of two sons. Arne August Wyller (1927-2001) became a professor of astronomy.

References

1903 births 1940 deaths People from Stavanger Academic staff of the University of Paris Norwegian humanists Norwegian resistance members Burials at Vestre gravlund 20th-century Norwegian philologists {{Norway-academic-bio-stub