Jakob Sverdrup (30 November 1919 – 5 December 1997) was a Norwegian historian.

Personal life

He was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

as a son of the professor of religious studies Georg Johan Sverdrup (1885–1951). He was a nephew of philologist Jakob Sverdrup, a first cousin once removed of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup and Leif Sverdrup, a grandson of bishop and politician Jakob Sverdrup, a great-grandson of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, Sr, a grandnephew of

Georg Sverdrup Georg Sverdrup (born Jørgen Sverdrup; 25 April 1770 – 8 December 1850) was a Norwegian statesman, best known as one of the presidents of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly in Eidsvoll in 1814. He was a member of the Norwegian Parliament and ...

and Edvard Sverdrup and a second cousin of Harald Sverdrup.

Career

He started his career as a journalist, and became the editor of foreign news in ''

Arbeiderbladet ''Dagsavisen'' is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. ...

''. He took the

dr.philos. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

degree in 1974 with the thesis ''Et statsmonopol blir til—Vinmonopolet frem til 1932''. He worked as a lecturer at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top univers ...

from 1963 and as assisting professor from 1983. From 1978 to 1989 he was the director of the

Norwegian Nobel Institute The Norwegian Nobel Institute ( no, Det Norske Nobelinstitutt) is located in Oslo, Norway. The institute is located at Henrik Ibsen Street 51 in the center of the city. It is situated just by the side of the Royal Palace. History The institute ...

, doubling as secretary of the

Norwegian Nobel Committee The Norwegian Nobel Committee ( no, Den norske Nobelkomité) selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will. Five members are appointed by ...

References

1919 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Norwegian historians Academic staff of the University of Oslo Writers from Bergen {{Norway-historian-stub