Hartvig Nissen and Educational Development in Norway. A Public Enlightener and a Political Strategist

Abstract

Ole Hartvig Nissen was born in Melhus in Trøndelag on 17 April 1815 as the second youngest of vicar Peder Schjelderup Nissen’s (1775–1826) and Bolette Margrethe Nissen’s (b. Musæus, 1774–1859) eight children. Nissen belonged to a family with generations of high officials and other prominent members of society, on both his mother’s and father’s side. One of his paternal ancestors was the lawyer Martinus Nissen (1744–1795), who had founded one of Norway’s first newspapers, Trondhjems Adresse-Contoirs Efterretninger, which is still in press under the name Adresseavisen. Nissen was enrolled as a student at Trondhjem’s learned school in 1827, and completed his Examen Artium eight years later. At that time, the Examen Artium was the university entrance exam, and by completing this exam Nissen qualified for admission to university studies. He started studying philology at the university in Christiania in 1835, specialising in Sanskrit and comparative linguistics. In 1838, he was granted a scholarship to go abroad, going to Copenhagen to embark on more advanced philological studies. Although Norway’s own university had played an important role in educating officials and other academics since its establishment in 1811, the university in Copenhagen still played an important role in elite education for many Norwegian students, and was often the first choice when being granted scholarships for studies abroad. The young Hartvig Nissen demonstrated an obvious scientific talent, and up to 1843, he made several applications for scientific scholarships to go abroad and conduct his philological studies.