Fun Facts Friday: Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson

December 8, 2023

Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson (8 December, 1832 – 26 April, 1910) was a Norwegian politician, poet and novelist. He is considered to be one of the four great Norwegian writers (along with Jonas Lie, Alexander Kielland, and Henrik Ibsen).

Fun Facts Friday: Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson
Books by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson*

  1. Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was born at an isolated village in the Østerdalendistrict of Norway. His father Peter Bjørnson was a pastor and moved the family to Nesset Parsonage where his young son spent his childhood.
  2. The future writer studied in Molde, and at the age of 17 went to a university preparatory school of Heltbergs Studentfabrikk. This is the same school that was previously attended by Jonas Lie, Alexander Kielland, and Henrik Ibsen.
  3. Mr. Bjørnson wrote poetry since hie was eleven and wanted to continue on a literary path. He graduated in 1852 from the University of Oslo and put his efforts towards a journalism career focusing his efforts on literary criticism.
  4. Between 1857 and 1868, the author published novels known as peasant tales, attempting to “to create a new saga in the light of the peasant.” The novels were so popular that least seven Danish composers created music based on the books.
  5. Mr. Bjørnson‘s breakthrough novels was his first peasant novel Synnøve Solbakken (1857), after his success he was able to make a living as a writer.
  6. The author traveled a lot around Europe, and even went through a period of voluntary exile between 1874 to 1876.
  7. Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was an avid supporter of Norway’s left-wing politics. He was not shy about speaking his political opinions and was even charged with high treason at some point. He was forced to take refuge in Germany, but returned to Norway in 1882.
  8. The author was an early supporter of Alfred Dreyfus during The Dreyfus Affair and wrote many articles promoting his innocence.
  9. Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was one of the original members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 1901 to 1906. The committee was responsible for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize.
  10. In 1903, Mr. Bjørnson was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit”

Books by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson*

Zohar — Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books

Sources:.

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson | The Nobel Prize

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson | Wikipedia

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Fun Facts Friday: Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson
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Fun Facts Friday: Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson
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Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson (8 December, 1832 – 26 April, 1910) was a Norwegian politician, poet and novelist. He is considered to be one of the four great Norwegian writers (along with Jonas Lie, Alexander Kielland, and Henrik Ibsen).
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