Herman "Jackrabbit" Smith-Johannsen, Order of Canada
(15 June 1875 – 5 January 1987) was a Norwegian skier and supercentenarian. He was the oldest living person from 14 December 1986 to 5 January 1987. He was appointed as a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1972. He is credited for building many ski jumps and blazing trails in Canada, and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He is known for his one-day ascent of

Mount Marcy Mount Marcy is the highest point in the Adirondack Mountains and the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, with an elevation of . It is located in the town of Keene, New York, Keene in Essex County, New York, Essex County. The mountain is ...

, the tallest mountain in New York. He was born in

Horten Horten () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Horten (town) ...

, Norway, and later moved to the United States, before settling in

Piedmont, Quebec Piedmont () is a small municipality within the Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Mountains of the administrative region of Laurentides. It is located along the Rivière du Nord (Laurentides), North ...

Personal life

Herman Smith-Johannsen with siblings in 1885

Smith-Johannsen was born in

, Norway, on 15 June 1875, the oldest of nine children. After studying in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

he moved to the United States before settling in

. He married Alice Robinson (1882–1963) in 1907. They had three children; Alice, Robert, and Peggy. Jackrabbit_Johannsen_Market_Pelham_NY_1

The family moved to Pelham, just outside New York City, in 1916. Smith-Johannsen managed a business importing heavy-equipment from Norway to North America and Cuba, shuttling between New York and Montreal, until the family permanently settled in Canada ca. 1929. While on a trip to Norway to visit friends, Smith-Johannsen became ill and doctors would not let him fly home. Smith-Johannsen died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on 5 January 1987, aged 111 years, 204 days, near

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

, Norway, being the oldest man in the world for the last 22 days of his life. He is buried by the St. Sauveur church in

Saint-Sauveur, Quebec Saint-Sauveur () is a town and municipality within the Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. It is in the administrative region of Laurentides in the Laurentian Mountains, located about 60 kilometres north of Montreal. ...

, next to his wife, who died in 1963. His archives are held at the

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Archives in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Professional life

Smith-Johannsen graduated from the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

in 1894 with a commission as a lieutenant in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army () is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The ...

Reserve. In 1899 he graduated with an engineering degree from the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. Two years later he moved to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, where he worked at selling heavy machinery. In 1907 he became an independent agent, selling heavy equipment, based out of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and eventually

Sportsman

Smith-Johannsen is credited with building many

ski jump Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fin ...

s and with blazing trails throughout

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (, ) is a historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby, Quebec, Granby in ...

, the Laurentians, and the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the highest point in Ne ...

in New York. In 1972 he was appointed as a Member of the

for fostering and developing skiing as a recreation and helping and encouraging generations of skiers in Canada. Founded in 1986, the Jackrabbit Ski Trail in the Adirondacks is named in honour of Johannsen. While living and vacationing in Lake Placid between 1916 and 1928, Smith-Johannsen laid out some of the original routes used by today's trail. He was also famous for his one-day ascents of

(the highest mountain in New York State) starting from Lake Placid, a round-trip of over 30 miles. Smith-Johannsen is also the namesake of

Cross Country Canada Nordiq Canada is the governing federation for cross-country skiing in Canada. History The first governing body for cross-country skiing in Canada was the Canadian Amateur Skiers Association (CASA), founded in 1920. This body covered all discipl ...

's Jackrabbit program designed to introduce children 6–9 to cross-country skiing through local ski clubs. Some former "Jackrabbits" introduced to skiing through the program include Olympic medallists Beckie Scott,

Sara Renner Sara Renner (born April 10, 1976) is a Canadian cross-country skier who competed from 1994 to 2010. With Beckie Scott, she won the silver medal in the team sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and earned her best individual finish o ...

, and Chandra Crawford and World Champions

Devon Kershaw Devon Kershaw (born December 20, 1982) is a Canadians, Canadian retired cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skier who competed from 2005 to 2018. Growing up in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, he split his time between several s ...

and Alex Harvey. In 1968, Smith-Johannsen received an honorary doctorate from

Sir George Williams University Sir George Williams University was a university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It merged with Loyola College to create Concordia University on August 24, 1974. History In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established on Sainte-Hélène St ...

, which later became

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

. In 1969 he was inducted to the

National Ski Hall of Fame The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a ...

. He was profiled during

ABC Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial America ...

coverage of the

1984 Winter Olympic Games The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) and commonly known as Sarajevo '84 (Serbian Cy ...

. He was an honorary member of the Norwegian skiing and gentlemen's club

SK Ull Skiklubben Ull was a Norwegian Nordic skiing club based in Oslo. Founded in 1883, Skiklubben Ull attracted several skilled sportsmen who between 1883 and 1891 won six Ladies' Cups and one King's Cup in national skiing events. The sporting facilit ...

References

External links

Cross Country Canada

Laurentian Heritage

Documentary dedicated to Herman Smith Johannsen, by William Brind, 1975

Herman Jackrabbit Smith-Johannsen Fonds
McGill University Library & Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith-Johannsen, Herman 1875 births 1987 deaths Norwegian male cross-country skiers Canadian male cross-country skiers Norwegian men centenarians Canadian supercentenarians Canadian men centenarians Men supercentenarians Deaths from pneumonia in Norway Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Members of the Order of Canada Norwegian emigrants to Canada Sportspeople from Horten Skiers from Vestfold SK Ull members

Personal life

Professional life

Sportsman

References

Further reading

External links