Randolph Edgar Haugan
Encyclopedia
Randolph E. Haugan was an American author, editor and publisher.
, Pierce County, Wisconsin
to immigrant parents from Norway. He was the youngest child of Torgeir Halvorson Haugan (1864–1915) and Hilda Dorothea Josephine (Ehrhardt) Haugan. Rev. Torgeir Haugan was a Lutheran minister who was from Haugan near Brunkeberg, in the Kviteseid
municipality of Telemark
County, Norway
and had immigrated to the United States during 1883. Randolph Haugan was a graduate of St. Olaf College
(B. A. 1924).
.
Haugan was knighted by King Haakon VII of Norway
during World War II
for his service to American Relief for Norway, Inc. of which he was Minnesota
state director. Haugan was also a charter member of the Ampersander Society of Minneapolis and a contributing member of the Norwegian-American Historical Association
. Additionally he served as chairman of the St. Olaf College Board of Trustees.
Haugan is most frequently associated with Christmas: an American Annual of Christmas Literature and Art which he initiated starting in 1931 and continued editing throughout the remainder of his career. This English language
edition would succeed Jul i Vesterheimen, a Norwegian language
Christmas annual previously published by Augsburg Publishing. Of the several Scandinavian-American Christmas annuals, these have generally been considered the most significant.
Background
Randolph Edgar Haugan was born in MartellMartell, Wisconsin
Martell is a town in Pierce County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,070 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Martell is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Lawton is also located partially in the town....
, Pierce County, Wisconsin
Pierce County, Wisconsin
Pierce County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2010, the population was 41,019. Its county seat is Ellsworth. Pierce County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area .-Geography:...
to immigrant parents from Norway. He was the youngest child of Torgeir Halvorson Haugan (1864–1915) and Hilda Dorothea Josephine (Ehrhardt) Haugan. Rev. Torgeir Haugan was a Lutheran minister who was from Haugan near Brunkeberg, in the Kviteseid
Kviteseid
Kviteseid is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kviteseid...
municipality of Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
County, 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...
and had immigrated to the United States during 1883. Randolph Haugan was a graduate of St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
(B. A. 1924).
Career
Starting in December 1928, Haugan would hold the position of General Manager for Augsburg Publishing House until 1970. Haugan was author and editor of several Lutheran church publications. These books included summaries of the beliefs and practices as well as information relating the Evangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaEvangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
.
Haugan was knighted by King Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for his service to American Relief for Norway, Inc. of which he was Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
state director. Haugan was also a charter member of the Ampersander Society of Minneapolis and a contributing member of the Norwegian-American Historical Association
Norwegian-American Historical Association
Norwegian-American Historical Association publishes scholarly books, documenting research and interpretations of the American experience of immigrant Norwegians....
. Additionally he served as chairman of the St. Olaf College Board of Trustees.
Haugan is most frequently associated with Christmas: an American Annual of Christmas Literature and Art which he initiated starting in 1931 and continued editing throughout the remainder of his career. This 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...
edition would succeed Jul i Vesterheimen, a Norwegian language
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...
Christmas annual previously published by Augsburg Publishing. Of the several Scandinavian-American Christmas annuals, these have generally been considered the most significant.
Selected works
- The 1924-25 Viking Yearbook (Fiftieth Anniversary) (St. Olaf College. Northfield, Minnesota. 1925)
- My Christian Faith (Augsburg Publishing. Minneapolis. 1937)
- Forward March of Faith; The Story of A Church (Augsburg Publishing. Minneapolis. 1943)
Additional Sources
- Risley, Kristin Ann Vikings of the Midwest: Place, Culture, and Ethnicity In Norwegian-American Literature, 1870-1940 (The Ohio State University Press. Columbus, Ohio. 2003)
- Rygg, Andreas Nilsen American Relief for Norway: A Survey of American Relief Work for Norway during and after the Second World War (Arnesen Press. Chicago. 1947)