Peter Marcus Gjøe Rosenkrantz Johnsen (October 10, 1857 – September 16, 1929) was a Norwegian journalist and author.

Life

Johnson was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. After attending Tank School in Bergen and the public school in

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

in 1871, he worked in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

from 1872 to 1879 before graduating from the school in Haugesund and then working part-time for the newspaper ''Haugesund Budstikke''. He passed his ''

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

'' in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

(now Oslo) in 1882, before he became the editorial secretary at the newspaper ''

Bergens Tidende is Norway's fifth-largest newspaper, and the country's largest newspaper outside Oslo. is owned by the public company Schibsted ASA. Norwegian owners held a mere 42% of the shares in Schibsted at the end of 2015. History and profile Founded ...

'' in 1883. He then contributed to the newspapers ''

Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...

'', ''

Dagbladet () is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally it was considered the main liberal newspaper of Norway, with a ...

'', and '' Intelligentssedlerne'', and he wrote for newspapers all over Norway, aside from during a sojourn in Copenhagen in 1888. When

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

and his wife Suzannah arrived in Kristiania on July 16, 1891, Johnsen was sent by ''Dagbladet'', and that same afternoon the couple invited him for coffee at the Grand Hotel, where he interviewed them. From 1900 to 1905 he served as the secretary of the

Norwegian Authors' Union The Norwegian Authors' Union (, DnF) is an association of Norwegian authors. It was established in 1893 to promote Norwegian literature and protect Norwegian authors' professional and economic interests. DnF also works in solidarity with persecu ...

. Johnsen was a regular art critic for '' Morgenposten'' from 1899 to 1917. Johnson covered the ceremony for the maiden voyage of RMS ''Lusitania'' in 1907 as a correspondent for ''Morgenposten''. Johnson made his literary debut in 1885 with the volume ''Nygifte og andre Smaafortællinger'' (Newly Married and Other Short Stories). He translated Rudyard Kipling's '' Barrack-Room Ballads'', publishing it as ''Soldatsange'' (Soldiers' Songs)—one of which, "Gentlemen-Rankers", was used by Edvard Grieg in his song "Gentlemen-Meninge" (EG 156). Johnson's poem "Haukeligauken (Eg gjekk meg upp paa sæterli)" (The Haukeli Cuckoo: I Went Up to the Mountain Pasture)" from ''Digte'' (Poems, 1891) was used by Johannes Haarklou in a composition featured on the 2007 album '' Shadow Songs''.

Family

Johnsen was the son of Konrad Johnsen (1824–1900) and Margrethe Petrea Blankenborg Prytz Bang (1824–1901). His father was a steamship skipper that served as the harbor master in Haugesund from 1869 onward. In 1889, Johnson married Laura Anette Berg (1861–1907) from Trondheim. She also served as his secretary, including during his trips abroad. He later married the teacher Ragna Bjerke. Johnsen was the nephew of the politician, journalist, and author Johan Christian Johnsen.

Notes

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnsen, Peter Marcus Gjøe Rosenkrantz 1857 births 1929 deaths 19th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian writers Norwegian art critics Norwegian expatriates in England Writers from Bergen