Eli Birgit "Ella" Anker (2 June 1870 – 20 April 1958) was a Norwegian magazine journalist, newspaper correspondent, playwright, feminist, and pamphleteer.

Personal life

She was born at Sagatun Folk High School in

Vang, Hedmark Vang is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1992 when it became part of Hamar Municipality. The administrative centre of the municipality was at Fredvang. This si ...

to Herman Anker (1839–1896) and Danish citizen Marie Elisabeth "Mix" Bojsen (1843–1892). She was a sister of

Katti Anker Møller Katti Anker Møller (23 October 1868 – 20 August 1945) was a Norway, Norwegian feminist, Children's rights movement, children's rights advocate, and a pioneer of reproductive rights. Biography She was born Cathrine Anker in Hamar, the daughter ...

and sister-in-law of

Kai Møller Kai Bisgaard Anker Møller (22 May 1859 – 22 September 1940) was a Norwegian land owner and politician. Biography Møller was born at Dyrendal near Halden in Østfold, Norway. He was the son of Edvard Johannes Møller (1819–85) and Dideri ...

, granddaughter of Peter Martin Anker, niece of

Nils Anker Nils Anker (14 June 1836 – 1 October 1893 ) was a Norwegian businessman, landowner and politician. He was born at Rød herregård in Halden, Østfold, Norway. He was a son of Peter Martin Anker and his second wife, Cathrine Olava Nicoline Gl ...

Christian August Anker Christian August Anker (9 August 1840 – 30 September 1912) was a Norwegian industrialist. He played an important role in the early mining industry in Norway and was also a pioneer in the wood-processing industry. He was born in the town of F ...

and Dikka Møller, first cousin of

Johan Anker Johan August Anker (26 June 1871 – 2 October 1940) was a Norwegian sailor and yacht designer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1928 Summer Olympics. Personal life He was born at Refne in Berg, � ...

and aunt of

Tove Mohr Tove Kathrine Mohr (née Møller) (3 March 1891 – 26 August 1981) was a Norwegian physician, socialist, and proponent for women's rights. Biography Tove Kathrine Møller was born at Thorsø in Østfold, Norway. She was the eldest of th ...

Øyvind Anker Øyvind Anker (13 July 1904 – 30 December 1989) was a Norwegian librarian. Personal life He was born in Frankfurt am Main as a son of engineer Nils Botvid Anker (1878–1943) and artist and pianist Gudrun Nilssen (1875–1958). He grew up in ...

Synnøve Anker Aurdal Synnøve Anker Aurdal (8 December 1908 – 2 April 2000) was a Norwegian textile artist. Her awards include Jacob-prisen, Maihaugenprisen, the Prince Eugen Medal, Arts Council Norway Honorary Award, and the Order of St. Olav. Early and p ...

and Peter Martin Anker. From December 1892 to 1906 she was married to Vilhelm Dunker Dons (1868–1908), a grandson of Vilhelmine Ullmann. Through her husband's sisters she was a sister-in-law of

Nils Kjær Nils Kjær (11 September 1870 – 9 February 1924) was a Norwegian playwright, short story writer, essayist, literary critic and theatre critic. Personal life Kjær was born in Holmestrand as the son of Nils Henrik Kjær and Christine Smes ...

and

Jens Thiis Jens Thiis (12 May 1870 – 27 June 1942) was a Norwegian Art history, art historian, conservator and a prominent museum director. He was conservator at the Nordenfjeld Industrial Arts Museum (''Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum'') in Tron ...

. She died in April 1958 in Oslo.

Career

She finished her secondary education at Ragna Nielsen's school in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

in 1887 and took the

examen philosophicum Examen philosophicum (Latin for ''philosophic exam''; abbreviated to ''Ex.phil.'') is, together with Examen facultatum, one of two academic exams in most undergraduate programmes at Norwegian universities. Whereas ''Examen facultatum'' aims at t ...

in 1888. In 1892 she was the first female board member of the

Norwegian Students' Society Norwegian Students' Society () is Norway's oldest student society. The Norwegian Students' Society was established during 1813 in Oslo, Norway. Two years after the Royal Frederick University (today named the University of Oslo) was founded, 18 of ...

, but the whole board was excluded for agitating against the

Norwegian flag The national flag of Norway (; ; ) is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross bordered in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the ''Dannebrog'', the flag of D ...

with With or WITH may refer to: * With, a preposition in English * Carl Johannes With (1877–1923), Danish doctor and arachnologist * With (character), a character in ''D. N. Angel'' * ''With'' (novel), a novel by Donald Harrington * ''With'' (album ...

union badge. From 1902 to 1904 she worked as a private secretary for Liberal Party politician Wollert Konow (H), who was also married to a maternal aunt of hers She was active in political parties, but from the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

she joined the Labour Democrats in 1890, then the Social Democratic Labour Party in 1926 and the Labour Party in 1927. She stood for parliamentary election; as third ballot candidate for the Radical People's Party (Labour Democrats) in Akershus in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

.Statistics Norway
– 1921 election After her husband's death she worked as subeditor for the weekly magazine ''Hver 8de Dag'', and a ''

Dagbladet () is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally it was considered the main liberal newspaper of Norway, with a ...

'' correspondent in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. From 1910 to 1920 she was a correspondent in London for several newspapers, including ''Dagbladet'' and ''

Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...

''. From 1923 she worked in the

women's magazine This is a list of women's magazines from around the world. These are magazines that have been published primarily for a readership of woman, women. Currently published *''10 Magazine (UK), 10 Magazine'' (UK – distributed worldwide) *''Al Jam ...

''Norges Kvinder''. She co-founded the Anglo-Norse Society in 1918 and founded the Anglo-Norse Society in Oslo () in 1921; for this she was decorated with the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. Anker had a sizeable authorship, and agitated for many issues. She was an adherent to

Spiritism Spiritism may refer to: Religion * Espiritismo, a Latin American and Caribbean belief that evolved and less evolved spirits can affect health, luck and other aspects of human life * Kardecist spiritism, a new religious movement established in ...

and Christianity, and wrote books such as ''Personlighetens liv efter døden'' ('The Life of Personality After Death', 1911), ''Ukjendte kræfter'' ('Unknown Forces', 1912) and ''Til vern om den kristne moral'' ('To Guard the Christian Moral', 1950). She also supported the controversial Norwegian claim to "

Erik the Red's Land Erik the Red's Land () was the name given by Norwegians to an area on the coast of eastern Greenland occupied by Norway in the early 1930s. It was named after Erik the Red, the founder of the first Norse or Viking settlements in Greenland in the ...

", and wrote several publications about this: the books ''Grønland for Norge'' ('Greenland for Norway', 1923) and ''Norges rett til Eirik Raude's land'' ('Norway's Right to Erik the Red's Land', 1931), and also the piece in ''Norges Kvinder'' in 1931, ''Det norske folks undergang på Grønland under danskestyret'' ('The Downfall of the Norwegian People of Greenland under Danish Rule'), and the play ''Eirik Raude'' about

Erik the Red Erik Thorvaldsson (), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color o ...

. Another play which is remembered today is ''Olavsbilæte'' (1923). She also agitated for peace between nations,

child benefit Child benefit or children's allowance is a social security payment which is distributed to the parents or guardians of children, teenagers and in some cases, young adult (psychology), young adults. Countries operate different versions of the benefi ...

, for giving wage to mothers (1928's book ''Mødrelønn'') and total prohibition. Her 1936 book about her father and his folk high school, ''Sagatun. Herman Ankers liv og virke'', was reissued in 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anker, Ella 1870 births 1958 deaths Norwegian newspaper reporters and correspondents Norwegian non-fiction writers Norwegian women non-fiction writers Norwegian biographers Norwegian expatriates in Italy Norwegian expatriates in England Norwegian dramatists and playwrights Norwegian women dramatists and playwrights Radical People's Party (Norway) politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians Norwegian people of Danish descent Norwegian socialist feminists

Ella Ella is a feminine given name, which also used as a surname. Ella (or similar) may also refer to: Places United States * Ella, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Ella, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Ella, Pennsylvania, an unincor ...

Members of the Order of the British Empire Norwegian women writers Norwegian women biographers