Olaf Skavlan
Olaf Skavlan was a Norwegian literary historian and playwright.Personal life
He was born as Ole Skavlan in Stranda as a son of vicar and politician Aage Schavland and his wife Gerhardine Pauline Bergh. He was a brother of Sigvald Skavlan, Einar Skavlan, Sr., Aage Skavlan and Harald Skavlan.
In August 1879 in Stavanger he married Dagmar Kielland. Through this marriage he was a son-in-law of Jens Zetlitz Kielland, a brother-in-law of Ludvig Daae, Elling Holst, Kitty Lange Kielland, Alexander Kielland, Jacob Kielland and Tycho Kielland. He was the father of Einar Skavlan, father-in-law of Arnstein Arneberg and grandfather of Merete Skavlan.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 as a comedy writer. In the periodical Nyt norsk Tidsskrift he published a study of Henrik Wergeland'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 in 1877. He also co-founded and edited the satirical magazine Vikingen, and published the periodical Nyt tidsskrift, between 1882 and 1887 and together with Ernst Sars. In 1884 he was a co-founder of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights, and he was a member of its first board of directors.
Skavlan died in May 1891 in Kristiania.
