Thomas Offenberg Backer (27 September 1892 in Telemark Norway – 10 January 1987) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

engineer.

Early life

Thomas Offenberg Backer was born at Mo in

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

, Norway. He was the son of Hans Backer (1858–1940) and Johanne Offenberg (1859–1954). The father was a parish priest. His brother of

Andreas Backer Andreas Cathrinus Backer (30 May 1895 – 10 August 1975) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor and organizational leader. Backer was born in Mo, Telemark, the son of priest Hans Backer and Johanne Offenberg, and was a brother of T ...

was secretary-general for the

Norwegian Trekking Association The Norwegian Trekking Association ( no, Den norske turistforening, DNT) is a Norwegian association which maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway. The association was founded on 21 January 1868 with the scope "to help and develop tourism i ...

. He was married in 1918 with Clara Martens (1895–1988).

Career

Backer graduated from the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology (Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was m ...

as siv.ing. in 1914. From 1948 to 1962 he served as director of the

Norwegian Directorate of Public Roads The Norwegian Public Roads Administration ( no, Statens vegvesen) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for national and county public roads in Norway. This includes planning, construction and operation of the national and county road net ...

. As a road director, Backer completed the restoration of war damaged bridges and roads resulting during the

Nazi occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

of Norway during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He had formerly worked as a district engineer for the

Norwegian Public Roads Administration The Norwegian Public Roads Administration ( no, Statens vegvesen) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for national and county public roads in Norway. This includes planning, construction and operation of the national and county road netw ...

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

and in

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. Th ...

Private life

Backer died during 1987 and was buried at

Vestre gravlund Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a crematorium (''Vestre kre ...

in Oslo.

References

1892 births 1987 deaths People from Tokke Directors of government agencies of Norway Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni Directorate of Public Roads people Burials at Vestre gravlund 20th-century Norwegian engineers 20th-century Norwegian civil servants {{Norway-engineer-stub