Endre Qvie Berner (24 September 1893 – 30 January 1983) was a Norwegian

organic chemist Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

, author and educator.

Background

He was born in

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 ...

as a son of businessperson Endre Qvie Berner, Sr. (1853–1925) and his wife Anna Marie Gjemre (1875–1958). He worked at a workshop after finishing middle school, and enrolled in machinery studies at Bergen Technical School in 1911, but switched to chemistry at the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology ( Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was ...

in 1913. He graduated in 1918, and was then hired as research assistant of his advisor Claus Nissen Riiber. In 1922 he was promoted to

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

. He studied in Munich (with

Richard Willstätter Richard Martin Willstätter FRS(For) HFRSE (, 13 August 1872 – 3 August 1942) was a German organic chemist whose study of the structure of plant pigments, chlorophyll included, won him the 1915 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Life Willstätter wa ...

and

Heinrich Otto Wieland Heinrich Otto Wieland (; 4 June 1877 – 5 August 1957) was a German chemist. He won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research into the bile acids. Career In 1901 Wieland received his doctorate at the University of Munich while studying ...

) in 1922–1923 and 1928, and in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

(with

Walter Haworth Sir Walter Norman Haworth FRS (19 March 1883 – 19 March 1950) was a British chemist best known for his groundbreaking work on ascorbic acid (vitamin C) while working at the University of Birmingham. He received the 1937 Nobel Prize in Chemis ...

) in 1929. He took the doctorate in 1926 with the thesis ''A Contribution to the Thermochemistry of Organic Compounds''.

Career

In 1934 he was appointed as professor at the

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 ...

. He is well known in the Nordic countries for his textbook ''Lærebok i organisk kjemi''. The first

modern Norwegian Modern Norwegian () is the Norwegian language that emerged after the Middle Norwegian transition period (1350–1536) until and including today. The transition to Modern Norwegian is usually dated to 1525, or 1536, the year of the Protestant Ref ...

textbook in

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

, it was first released in 1942 and then re-released several times, the last in 1964. The 1958 edition became known for introducing new Norwegian-language names of several chemical elements: ''hydrogen'', ''nitrogen'', ''karbon'' (carbon) og ''oksygen'' (oxygen). During the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, his academic career was interrupted. When the Nazi authorities were about to change the rules for admission to the university in autumn 1943, a protest ensued. In retaliation, the authorities arrested 11 staff, 60 male students and 10 female students. The staff

Johannes Andenæs Johannes Bratt Andenæs, often shortened to Johs. Andenæs (7 September 1912 – 3 July 2003) was a Norway, Norwegian jurist. He was a professor of jurisprudence at the University of Oslo from 1945 to 1982, and served as Rector (academia), recto ...

Eiliv Skard Eiliv Skard (19 October 1898 – 30 September 1978) was a Norwegian classical philologist. Personal life He was born in Levanger as a son of educators Matias Skard (1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868–1916). The family moved to Kristian ...

, Johan Christian Schreiner, Harald Krabbe Schjelderup,

Anatol Heintz Anatol Heintz (9 February 1898 – 23 February 1975) was a Russo-Norwegian palaeontologist. He was born in Petrograd to the geophysicist Yevgeniy Alfredovich Heintz (1869–1918) and Olga Fyodorovna Hoffmann (1871–1958). He had two older si ...

, Odd Hassel,

Ragnar Frisch Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch (3 March 1895 – 31 January 1973) was an influential Norwegian economist and econometrician known for being one of the major contributors to establishing economics as a quantitative and statistically informed science ...

, Carl Jacob Arnholm, Bjørn Føyn and Endre Berner were sent to

Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...

. Berner was first incarcerated at

Berg concentration camp Berg interneringsleir (Berg internment camp) was a concentration camp near Tønsberg in Norway that served as an internment and transit center for political prisoners and Jews during the Nazi occupation of Norway. Establishment The camp at Berg ...

from 22 November 1943, then at Grini until 24 December 1944. After the war Berner continued as professor at the University of Oslo until 1962, except for a stay at the

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

from 1954 to 1955. He was also active as a professor emeritus until his death. He was elected as a member of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

in 1927, of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, 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 University in Christiania was establis ...

in 1933 and of the

Society of Chemical Industry The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit". Offices The society's headquarters is in Belgrave Square, London. There are semi-in ...

in 1951. In 1959, he earned the Nansen medal for Outstanding Research and in 1969 he was decorated with the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

. He was the president of the

Norwegian Chemical Society The Norwegian Chemical Society () is a professional society in Norway for chemists. Formed in 1893, its purpose is to "promote the interest and understanding of chemistry and chemical technology". Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically de ...

from 1946 to 1950, having co-founded the

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

branch of the society, and ultimately received honorary membership.

Personal life

He was married twice, 1) 1922 with Nathalia Adelaide Weidemann (1896-1930); 2) 1935 with Erna Gay (1909–2003). He died during 1983 in Oslo 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berner, Endre 1893 births 1983 deaths People from Stavanger Norwegian chemists Norwegian educators Organic chemists Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian expatriates in Germany Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni Academic staff of the Norwegian Institute of Technology Academics of Imperial College London Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian resistance members Berg concentration camp survivors Grini concentration camp survivors Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Burials at Vestre gravlund