Ole Hartvig Nissen (17 April 1815 – 4 February 1874) was a Norwegian philologist and educator. He founded Nissen's Girls' School in Christiania in 1849. In 1865 he became director-general in the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, while remaining one of three joint headmasters of Nissen's Girls' School until 1872. In 1873 he was appointed to the prestigious position as rector of

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

Personal life

Hartvig Nissen was born in

Melhus Municipality Melhus is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Melhus (village), village o ...

as a son of Lutheran priest, Peder Schjelderup Nissen (1775–1826) and Bolette Margrethe Musæus (1774–1859). He was a grandson of

Martinus Nissen Martinus is a given name or surname. It comes from the Latin name ''Martinus'', which is a late derived form of the name of the Roman god Mars (mythology), Mars, protective godhead of the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins and, therefore, god of war. Ne ...

and first cousin of Rasmus Tønder Nissen. He was the 8th child in his family of 10 children. His great-grandfather Niels Hansen Nissen was born in

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...

in Denmark and moved to

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 ...

in Norway, where he became a merchant. "Nissen" is a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

surname meaning "son of Nis," Nis being a form of

Niels Niels is a male given name, equivalent to Nicholas, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nikolaos, after Saint ...

used in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

No-nb bldsa 1c198 Karen Magdalena Nissen

In June 1843 in Christiania he married Karen Magdalena Aas (1820–1900), a granddaughter of

Erik Andreas Colban The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

. They were the parents of cartographer Per Schjelderup Nissen and architect

Henrik Nissen Johannes Henrik Nissen ( 21 April 1848 – 4 June 1915) was a Norwegian architect. Personal life He was born in Christiania as a son of school manager Hartvig Nissen (1815–1874) and Karen Magdalena Aas (1820–1900). He was a great-grandson ...

. His daughter Helga Johanne Arentz Nissen married Johan Johannson and was the mother of Johan and Ole Hartvig Nissen Johannson. Hartvig and Karen were also grandparents of prison director

Hartvig Nissen Ole Hartvig Nissen (17 April 1815 – 4 February 1874) was a Norwegian philologist and educator. He founded Nissen's Girls' School in Christiania in 1849. In 1865 he became director-general in the Ministry of Education, while remaining one of t ...

and Kristian Nissen.

Career

He had great influence on educational policy in Norway in the 19th century, being the architect behind several law reforms. In 1873 he became rector at the

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

. He was 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 ...

from 1852. He was elected deputy representative for the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

in 1857 and in 1859, and was appointed Knight of 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 ...

in 1864.

Selected works

* ''Om kvindelig Dannelse og kvindelige Undervisningsanstalter'', (1849) * ''Grundtræk af en Plan for Omdannelsen af Almueskolen paa Landet'', (1851) * ''Om Almueoplysningen og Almueskolen'', (1852) * ''Udkast til Love om Almueskolevæsenet paa Landet og i Kjøbstæderne med Begrundelse'', (1856) * ''Om Ordningen af vort høiere Skolevæsen'', (1865)

References

Other sources

*Boyesen, Einar with Therese Bertheau, Chr S. Mellbye, Henriette Nissen (1924) ''Nissens pikeskole 1849-1924'' (Oslo: J.W. Cappelens Forlag) *Boyesen, Einar (1947) ''Hartvig Nissen 1815–1874 og det norske skolevesens reform'' (Oslo: Johan Grundt Tanum) *Slagstad, Rune (1998) ''De nasjonale strateger'' (Pax-bok)

External links

Hartvig Nissens Skole official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissen, Hartvig 1815 births 1874 deaths People from Melhus Norwegian philologists Norwegian educators Deputy members of the Storting Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters