Herman Anker (15 July 1839 – 9 August 1896) was a Norwegian school teacher and educationalist. He was born at Rød Manor in

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a List of cities in Norway, town and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, R ...

, a son of wholesaler Peter Martin Anker. He was the brother of

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 father 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 Ella Anker. He went to the Latin School at Fredrikshald and took school graduation in 1857. He attended 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 ...

earning his theological degree in 1863. As a theological student in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, he had met

Grundtvig Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (; 8 September 1783 – 2 September 1872), most often referred to as N. F. S. Grundtvig, was a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian, teacher and politician. He was one of the most influential p ...

and became introduced to his thought on education and the development of the

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

movement. In 1864 along with Olaus Arvesen, he founded Sagatun Folk High School at

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

. This was the first folk high school in Norway.

References

1839 births 1896 deaths People from Halden University of Christiania alumni Norwegian educationalists Norwegian educators Heads of schools in Norway Herman 19th-century Norwegian educators {{norway-academic-bio-stub