Sigmund Skard was a Norwegian poet, essayist and professor of literature.

He was born in Kristiansand

Kristiansand

-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...

 as a son of educators Matias Skard

Matias Skard

Matias Skard was a Norwegian philologist, educator, psalmist, essayist and translator, a brother of folklorist Johannes Skar....

 (1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868–1916). He was a nephew of Johannes Skar

Johannes Skar

Johannes Skar was a Norwegian folklorist, a brother of educator Matias Skard. His main contribution is the work Gamalt or Sætesdal , a collection of eight volumes of folklore from the valley Setesdal.-References:...

 and Christopher Bruun

Christopher Bruun

Christopher Arndt Bruun was a Norwegian priest and educator.-Early life:He was born in Christiania as a son of jurist Johan Peter Bruun and Line Stenersen . After his father died when Christopher was three years old, the family moved to Vang, Hedmark, then to Lillehammer in 1850...

, a brother of Bjarne

Bjarne Skard

-Personal life:He was born in Levanger as a son of educators Matias Skard and Gyda Christensen . The family moved to Kristiansand in 1901. He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and Christopher Bruun, a brother of Eiliv and Sigmund Skard and a half-brother of Olav and Torfinn Skard...

 and Eiliv Skard

Eiliv Skard

Eiliv Skard was a Norwegian classical philologist.-Personal life:He was born in Levanger as a son of educators Matias Skard and Gyda Christensen . The family moved to Kristiansand in 1901...

 and a half-brother of Olav

Olav Skard

-Personal life:He was born in Østre Gausdal as a son of educators Matias Skard and his first wife Marie Bø . He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and Per Bø and a half-brother of Torfinn, Bjarne, Eiliv and Sigmund Skard...

 and Torfinn Skard

Torfinn Skard

-Personal life:He was born in Faaberg as a son of educator Matias Skard and his second wife Nilsine Kristiane Myhre . He was a nephew of Johannes Skar, Christopher Bruun and Per Bø and a half-brother of Olav Skard and Bjarne, Eiliv and Sigmund Skard...

.

He took the dr.philos. degree in 1938 with a thesis on Aasmund Olavsson Vinje

Aasmund Olavsson Vinje

Aasmund Olavsson Vinje was a famous Norwegian poet and journalist who is remembered for poetry, travel writing, and his pioneering use of Landsmål .-Background:...

. He was hired at the University Library of Oslo

University Library of Oslo

The University Library of Oslo is a library connected to the University of Oslo.Like the University, it was established in 1811 with Georg Sverdrup as the first head librarian. It originally doubled as the Norwegian national library, and was located at the old University of Oslo campus.In 1913 the...

, and was connected to the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters

The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters is a learned society based in Trondheim, Norway.-History:DKNVS was founded in 1760 by bishop of Nidaros Johan Ernst Gunnerus, headmaster at the Trondheim Cathedral School Gerhard Schøning and Councillor of State Peter Frederik Suhm under the name...

 in Trondheim

Trondheim

Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...

. During the German occupation of Norway, he fled to the United States and worked at the Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

 and the Office of War Information.

After the war he settled at Lysaker

Lysaker

Lysaker is a section of and a postal code area of the Norwegian municipality of Bærum, just west of Oslo.Geographically, it is bordered by Lysakerelven on the east, which also forms the border to Oslo; Fornebu to the south; Stabekk to the west; and Jar to the north...

, and worked as a professor in American literature at the University of Oslo

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...

 from 1946 to 1973. A proponent of the Nynorsk

Nynorsk

Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...

 language form, he was the secretary of the publishing house Det Norske Samlaget

Det Norske Samlaget

Det Norske Samlaget is a Norwegian publishing house founded on 24 March 1868 with the aim to promote and publish books in Landsmål, now known as Nynorsk....

 from 1930 to 1938, and chairman of the board from 1949 to 1972. From 1940 to 1950 he was the vice chairman of Noregs Mållag

Noregs Mållag

Noregs Mållag is the main organisation for Norwegian Nynorsk , one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language. In the Norwegian language struggle, it advocates the use of Nynorsk...

.

Skard has an extensive bibliography, and has received numerous awards. The most prestigious awards were the 1983 Arts Council Norway Honorary Award and the 1992 Brage Honorary Prize

Brage Prize

The Brage Prize is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation...

.

In January 1933 in Aker

Aker, Norway

Aker is a former municipality in Akershus, which lends its name to a municipality and a county in Norway. The name originally belonged to a farm which was located near the current Old Aker Church...

 he married Åse Gruda Koht

Åse Gruda Skard

Åse Gruda Skard was a Norwegian psychologist, and a pioneer in the field of the bringing up of children. She lectured at the University of Oslo from 1947 to 1973. She edited the magazine Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift from 1936 to 1970. She wrote 24 books and almost 2,000 journal articles...

. She was the daughter of Halvdan Koht

Halvdan Koht

Halvdan Koht was a Norwegian historian and politician representing the Labour Party.As a politician he served as the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1935 to 1941. He was never elected as a member of the Parliament of Norway, but was a member of Bærum municipal council in 1917–1919 and...

 and Karen Grude Koht

Karen Grude Koht

Karen Grude Koht was a Norwegian pedagogist, essayist and feminist pioneer. She was born in Høyland and started her working career as a teacher in Sandnes. She was married to historian Halvdan Koht, and mother of Åse Gruda Skard and Paul Koht. Among her works are Mi fyrste bok from 1921 and Barna...

. The couple had five children; among them Halvdan Skard

Halvdan Skard

Halvdan Skard is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.He was born in Oslo as a son of Åse Gruda Skard and Sigmund Skard, and through Åse the grandson of Halvdan Koht and Karen Grude Koht. He has two sisters Torild Skard and Målfrid Grude Flekkøy, who are twins, and himself has a twin...

, Torild Skard

Torild Skard

Torild Skard is a Norwegian psychologist and researcher, feminist, politician for the Socialist Left Party, civil servant and former high-ranking United Nations official . She served as a Member of Parliament, President of its upper chamber and Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice...

 and Målfrid Grude Flekkøy

Målfrid Grude Flekkøy

-Personal life:She was born in Oslo as a daughter of Sigmund Skard and Åse Gruda Skard . She is a sister of Halvdan Skard and twin sister of Torild Skard. Through her mother, she is a granddaughter of Halvdan Koht and Karen Grude Koht, and through her father she is a granddaughter Matias Skard and...

.