Michael Birkeland (16 December 183024 May 1896) was a Norwegian historian, civil servant and politician. He was born at

Eigersund Eigersund is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Egersund. The tow ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

, Norway. In 1855, he was awarded his cand. jur. at the University of Christiania (now University of Oslo). In 1852, he became an assistant in the

National Archives of Norway The National Archives of Norway (''Riksarkivet'') is the institution responsible for preserving archive material from Norway, Norwegian state institutions, as well as contributing to the preservation of private archives. It does this work in cooper ...

(''Riksarkivet''). In 1863, he took over the position of national archivist. He co-founded the Norwegian Historical Association in 1869, and edited the academic journal '' Historisk Tidsskrift'' from 1869 to 1879. He was a member of the

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

from 1880 to 1885. He was decorated 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 1875.

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* 1830 births 1896 deaths People from Eigersund University of Oslo alumni Norwegian civil servants 19th-century Norwegian historians Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour Members of the Storting 1883–1885 Members of the Storting 1880–1882 {{Norway-historian-stub