Sigurd Segelcke Meidell (20 February 1878 – 26 July 1968) was a Norwegian journalist, genealogist and novelist.

Biography

He 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 ...

as a son of sea captain Hartvig Segelcke Meidell (1834–1902) and Malin Gohde (1847–1895). His father's family hailed from

Kvinnherad Kvinnherad is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in siz ...

, and his mother's family was Swedish. He was the brother of Fascist politician

Birger Meidell Birger Øivind Meidell (4 February 1882 – 29 January 1958) was a professor and a member of The Norwegian Science Academy who served two posts in the fascist NS government of Vidkun Quisling first as Church and Educational Minister and then as ...

. In August 1908 he married Nunne Thorbjørnsen (1885–1949). Meidell grew up in

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. ...

. He finished his secondary education in 1898, enrolled in law studies and graduated with the

cand.jur. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree in 1905. From 1906 to 1908 he was a foreign affairs journalist and theatre critic in the newspaper ''

Morgenbladet is Norway's oldest daily newspaper, covering politics, culture and science, now a weekly news magazine primarily directed at well-educated readers. The magazine is notable for its opinion section featuring contributions exclusively from Norweg ...

''. He also worked as the

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 ...

city correspondent of ''

Bergens Aftenblad was a Norwegian daily newspaper, published in Bergen, Norway from 1880 to 1942. History and profile The paper was started in 1880, and absorbed the long-running in 1889. The Nazis took over the paper in January 1942 and closed it on 21 April 1 ...

'' and '' Trondhjems Adresseavis''. In 1908 he co-founded and edited the sports magazine ''Sport''. In 1926 he was among the founders of the Norwegian Genealogical Society, together with

Stian Herlofsen Finne-Grønn Stian ronounce: Steejjańis a given name for males, originating from Norway. It is the modern form of the Old Norse name ''Stígandr'', which means "wanderer". Another translation given is "swift on his feet". Another modern derivation of the O ...

and Christopher Morgenstierne Munthe, among others. This was Norway's first national genealogical society. He was the chairman of the organization from 1940 to 1943, taking over from

Halvdan Koht Halvdan Koht (7 July 1873 – 12 December 1965) was a Norwegian historian and politician representing the Labour Party. Born in the north of Norway to a fairly distinguished family, he soon became interested in politics and history. Sta ...

who went into exile following the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940. On the very same day, his brother was named as Minister of Church and Education in the

Vidkun Quisling Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (; ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Nazi collaborator who Quisling regime, headed the government of N ...

government that attempted a coup d'etat. Meidell left the chair in 1943. He was also a member of the board of the

Norwegian Museum of Cultural History Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Museum of Cultural History), at Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway, is a museum of cultural history with extensive collections of artifacts from all social groups and all regions of the country. It also incorporates a large open ...

and Landslaget for By- og Bygdehistorie. From 1941 he tried his luck as a novelist, under the pseudonym Arne Vaagen. He published eight novels in all, and the first three enjoyed some popularity. In 1956 he published his memoirs, ''Møte med livet''. He was also an editorial committee member of ''

Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. It is part of the '' Great Norwegian Encyclopedia''. Origin The first print edition (NBL1) was issued between 1923 and 1983; it included 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. Kunnskapsforlaget to ...

''. In 1956, Meidell was decorated as a Knight, First Class 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 ...

and was awarded the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold. He was also a Knight of the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

and Commander of the Finnish

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all ...

. He died in 1968 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meidell, Sigurd S. 1878 births 1968 deaths People from Hamar Norwegian people of Swedish descent Norwegian magazine editors Norwegian genealogists 20th-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian memoirists Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold