Hjalmar Holand
Encyclopedia
Hjalmar Rued Holand was an American historian and author. He was the author of a number of books and numerous articles principally dealing with the history of the Upper Midwest
and with Norwegian-American immigration.
, Akershus
, Norway
. Holand immigrated to America and went to Chicago
with an older sister of his in 1884. He received his BA from the University of Wisconsin in 1898, earning his MA the following year. Holand was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
in Anthropology & Cultural Studies during 1950.
. Holand was an early advocate of the now widely recognized realization that Vikings visited the New World
in voyages which pre-dated Christopher Columbus
. Holand also made an effort to confirm the authenticity of the Kensington Stone together with other rune stones and Viking relics found throughout North America
. Holland also wrote a two volume history of Door County, Wisconsin
, which was published in 1917. Holand was also president of the Door County Historical Society.
Holand is most frequently associated with his two volume history of Norwegian-American immigration. Holand spent many years collecting the stories as he traveled to various Norwegian-American settlements in the Upper Midwest
. The results were De Norske Settlements Historie released in 1908 and Den Siste Folkevandring Sagastubber Fra Nybyggerlivet I Amerika published in 1930. Both were written and published in Norwegian
. These works have subsequently been translated and published in the English language
. The first was a partial translation released in 1978 and the second a complete translation released during 2006.
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the midwest. Although there are no uniformly agreed-upon boundaries, the region is most commonly used to refer to the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and...
and with Norwegian-American immigration.
Background
Hjalmar Holand was born in HølandHøland
-History:Høland was created in 1837 as a formannskapsdistrikt, a Norwegian local self-government district. The district Setskog was separated from Høland to form a separate municipality January 1, 1905. The split left Høland with 4,928 inhabitants. Høland municipality existed until 1 July 1924,...
, Akershus
Akershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Holand immigrated to America and went to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
with an older sister of his in 1884. He received his BA from the University of Wisconsin in 1898, earning his MA the following year. Holand was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in Anthropology & Cultural Studies during 1950.
Career
Holand lived most of his life on a farm near Ephraim, WisconsinEphraim, Wisconsin
-Events:The city's main festival is Fyr Bal, a Scandinavian celebration held near the solstice in mid-June to drive out the wicked winter witch. Bonfires burn along the shoreline as residents and visitors gather to celebrate the beginning of summer....
. Holand was an early advocate of the now widely recognized realization that Vikings visited the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
in voyages which pre-dated Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
. Holand also made an effort to confirm the authenticity of the Kensington Stone together with other rune stones and Viking relics found throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Holland also wrote a two volume history of Door County, Wisconsin
Door County, Wisconsin
Door County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 27,961. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. Door County is a popular vacation and tourist destination, especially for residents of Wisconsin and Illinois....
, which was published in 1917. Holand was also president of the Door County Historical Society.
Holand is most frequently associated with his two volume history of Norwegian-American immigration. Holand spent many years collecting the stories as he traveled to various Norwegian-American settlements in the Upper Midwest
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the midwest. Although there are no uniformly agreed-upon boundaries, the region is most commonly used to refer to the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and...
. The results were De Norske Settlements Historie released in 1908 and Den Siste Folkevandring Sagastubber Fra Nybyggerlivet I Amerika published in 1930. Both were written and published in Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
. These works have subsequently been translated and published in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The first was a partial translation released in 1978 and the second a complete translation released during 2006.
Selected bibliography
- De Norske Settlements Historie (1908) - (published in English as Norwegians in America in 1978)
- Nils Otto Tank (1909)
- History of Door County, Wisconsin (1917)
- Old Peninsula Days (1925)
- Coon Prairie (1927)
- Coon Valley (1928)
- Den Siste Folkevandring Sagastubber Fra Nybyggerlivet I Amerika (1930) – (published in English under the title History of the Norwegian Settlements in 2006)
- Wisconsin’s Belgium Community (1931)
- The Kensington Stone (1932)
- Westward from Vinland (1940)
- My First Eighty Years (1957)
- Explorations in America before Columbus (1956)
- A Pre-Columbian Crusade to America (1962)
Other sources
- Burton, Paul and Frances Ephraim Stories (Ephraim: Stonehill Publishing, published in 1999. reprinted in 2003)
- H. Holand, Noted Author and Historian, Dead at 90 ("Door County Advocate". August 8, 1963, pp. 1 and 3)