GISLE BOTHNE:

Gisle Christian Johnson Bothne was born on September 7, 1860 in Frederickshald, Norway, the son of Thrond Johnson and Johanne Okland Bothne. He received his early education in Norway. The family emigrated to the United States in 1876 when Bothne's father accepted a professorial position at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Bothne enrolled in Luther College and received his bachelor of arts degree in 1878. He then pursued graduate work at Northwestern University in Watertown, Wisconsin (1878-1879) and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland (1880). He received his master of arts degree from Luther College in 1881 and immediately became an instructor at that school, eventually becoming head of both the Scandinavian language and literature and the Greek departments. He also taught mathematics. He continued his graduate work at John Hopkins University in 1883-1884 and in the latter year was made a full professor at Luther College. In 1904 and 1905 he also spent a year studying at the universities of Oslo and Berlin and in Athens.

In 1907 he accepted the position of associate professor of Scandinavian languages and literature at the University of Minnesota. He was appointed head of that department in 1919, a position he held until his 1929 retirement.

He was the author of the History of Luther College, 1897, received the Order of St. Olaf from the King of Norway in 1911 and was appointed to the rank of Commander in 1926, represented the University of Minnesota at the centennial celebrations of Royal Frederick's University, Kristiania, Norway in 1911 and Norway's constitution in 1914, was president of the Norse-American centennial celebration held in St. Paul in 1925, and was a guest of the Norwegian government at the 1928 Henrik Ibsen centenary in Oslo. He was also a member and officer of Lambda Alpha Psi fraternity, Det Norske Selskab of America, the Norwegian National League, the Modern Language Association of America, and the Minnesota Historical Society, and was an honorary member of the Norwegian-Danish Press Association of America.

Bothne married Katherine Elise Brandt on June 27, 1895. The couple had two daughters, Dikka J. and Agnes M.

He died in Minneapolis on December 8, 1934.

Biographical data was taken from the collection; from Who Was Who in America, Vol. I, 1897-1942 (Marquis - Who's Who, Inc., Chicago: 1968), p. 119; and from the St. Paul Dispatch, Dec. 8, 1934, p. 1.

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Written in both English and Norwegian, the papers detail Bothne's years as a professor at both Luther College and the University of Minnesota (U. of M.), including his service as U. of M. delegate to the two Norwegian centennial celebrations mentioned above, as well as his continuing efforts to promote Norwegian-American culture. The latter are reflected particularly through his actions to form a Norwegian-American Historical Association and establish a Scandinavian museum at the U. of M., his participation in the 1928 Henrik Ibsen and 1932 Björnstjerne Björnson centennial celebrations and in the organization of the Norwegian League of Minneapolis, and his service as president of both the 1925 Norse-American Centennial in St. Paul and its administrative body, Norse-American Centennial, Inc. The majority of the papers deal with his Norse-American Centennial activities.

Arranged chronologically within each series, the papers include letters, newspaper clippings, invitations, programs, telegrams, minutes, speeches, articles, study programs, and volumes.

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The collection is divided into the following series: correspondence and related papers, materials from the centennial celebrations of Royal Frederick's University, Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway (1911) and of Norway's constitution (1914), speeches and articles written by or about Bothne, study programs, drawings, clippings, volumes, and oversize papers.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Gisle Bothne Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 4402

Processing Information:

Processed by: Cheryl N. Thies, July 1984

Catalog ID number: 990017320000104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Danish language.

Education -- United States.

Grunnlovsdag(Norwegian holiday).

Lutherans, Norwegian -- Education.

Norwegian American newspapers.

Norwegian language.

Norwegian literature.

Norwegians -- Canada.

Norwegians -- United States.

Pageants.

Persons:

Björnson, Björnstjerne, 1832-1910.

Borah, William Edgar, 1865-1940.

Breidvik, Mons, 1881-1950.

Coolidge, Calvin, 1872-1933.

Dillman, Willard, 1872 or 3-1949, author.

Guarta, H., author.

Heg, Hans Christian 1829-1863.

Holvik, J. A. (Johan Andreas), 1880-1960, author.

Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906.

Kildal, Arne, 1885-, author.

Kvale, Ole Juulson, 1869-1929, author.

Larsen, Peter Laurentius, 1833-1915.

Leiv Eiriksson, -approximately 1020.

Moen, Nels T., author.

Munch, P. A. (Peter Andreas), 1810-1863.

Nansen, Fridtjof, 1861-1930.

Olson, Floyd Björnstjerne, 1891-1936.

Shipstead, Henrik, 1881-1960, author.

Turner, Frederick Jackson, 1861-1932, author.

Ulen, George C., author.

Organizations:

Kongelige Frederiks universitet.

Luther College (Decorah, Iowa).

Norse-American Centennial (1925: Saint Paul, Minn.).

Norwegian-American Historical Association.

Norwegian National League of Minneapolis.

St. Olaf College.

University of Minnesota.

Places:

Norway -- Centennial celebrations, etc.

Oslo (Norway).

Document Types:

Diplomas.

Drawings.

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