Olaf Skavlan was a Norwegian literary historian and playwright.

Personal life

He was born as Ole Skavlan in Stranda

Stranda

Stranda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stranda....

 as a son of vicar and politician Aage Schavland (1806–1876) and his wife Gerhardine Pauline Bergh (1817–1884). He was a brother of Sigvald Skavlan, Einar Skavlan, Sr., Aage Skavlan

Aage Skavlan

Aage Gerhard Skavlan was a Norwegian historian.He was born in Herøy as a son of dean Aage Schavland and his wife Gerhardine Pauline Bergh . He was a great-grandnephew of vicar Jacob Schavland, nephew of vicar Gerhard B...

 and Harald Skavlan

Harald Skavlan

Harald Skavlan was a Norwegian railroad engineer.He was born in Herøy as a son of dean Aage Schavland and his wife Gerhardine Pauline Bergh . He was a great-grandnephew of vicar Jacob Schavland, nephew of vicar Gerhard B...

.

In August 1879 in Stavanger

Stavanger

Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...

 he married Dagmar Kielland (1855–1931). Through this marriage he was a son-in-law of Jens Zetlitz Kielland

Jens Zetlitz Kielland

Jens Zetlitz Kielland was a Norwegian consul and artist. He is known as the father of novelist Alexander Kielland.He was born in Stavanger to Jacob Kielland and Axeliane Christine , née Zetlitz. His grandfather was Gabriel Schanche Kielland, his uncle Jonas Schanche Kielland. He had four brothers...

, a brother-in-law of Ludvig Daae, Elling Holst, Kitty Lange Kielland

Kitty Lange Kielland

-Early life and training:Kielland was born to an affluent family in Stavanger, the older sister of Alexander Kielland. Kielland's mutual interactions with her brother would be important to shaping her as an artist. Although she received some training in drawing and painting, it was not until she...

, Alexander Kielland

Alexander Kielland

Alexander Lange Kielland was one of the most famous Norwegian realistic writers of the 19th century. He is one of the so-called "The Four Greats" in Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Jonas Lie.-Background:Born in Stavanger, Norway, he grew up in a rich...

, Jacob Kielland

Jacob Kielland (priest)

-Personal life:He was born in Stavanger to Jens Zetlitz Kielland and his wife Christine , née Lange. His grandfather was also named Jacob, so was an uncle. Through his uncle, Jacob was the cousin of diplomat Axel Christian Zetlitz Kielland, mayor Jonas Schancke Kielland and others...

 and Tycho Kielland

Tycho Kielland

Tycho Kielland was a Norwegian jurist and journalist.He was born in Stavanger to Jens Zetlitz Kielland and his wife Christine , née Lange. His grandfather was Jacob Kielland, and an uncle was also named Jacob Kielland...

. He was the father of Einar Skavlan

Einar Skavlan

Einar Kielland Skavlan was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor, theatre critic and theatre director....

, father-in-law of Arnstein Arneberg

Arnstein Arneberg

Arnstein Rynning Arneberg was a Norwegian architect. He was active as an architect for 50 years and is often considered the leading architect in Norway of his time. -Background:...

 and grandfather of Merete Skavlan

Merete Skavlan

Merete Skavlan is a Norwegian actress, theatre instructor and director.She was the daughter of newspaper editor and theatre director Einar Skavlan and music educator Margrethe Bartholdy....

.

Career

He debuted as a fiction writer as a student. In 1871 he took the doctorate on the thesis Holberg som Komedieforfatter, about Ludvig Holberg

Ludvig Holberg

Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...

 as a comedy writer. In the periodical Nyt norsk Tidsskrift he published a study of Henrik Wergeland

Henrik Wergeland

Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist...

's work Skabelsen, Mennesket og Messias. This contributed to an understanding of Wergeland as a liberal political figure, not following the politically conservative tradition that branded Wergelenad as an apolitical wordsmith. Skavlan was appointed as a professor at the Royal Frederick University

University of Oslo

The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

 in 1877. He also co-founded and edited the satirical magazine Vikingen

Vikingen

Vikingen is a former Norwegian satirical magazine, published from 1862 to 1932. It was founded by printer Henning Tønsberg. Among the contributors were the satirical illustrators Olaf Krohn, Andreas Bloch, Gustav Lærum and Olaf Gulbransson.-History:...

, and published the periodical Nyt tidsskrift, between 1882 and 1887 and together with Ernst Sars

Ernst Sars

Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars was a Norwegian historian, publicist and editor. His main work was Udsigt over den norske Historie, four volumes issued from 1873 to 1891. He co-edited the magazines Nyt norsk Tidskrift from 1877 to 1878, and Nyt Tidsskrift from 1882 to 1887...

.

Skavlan died in May 1891 in Kristiania

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

.