Anton Wilhelm Brøgger

Anton Wilhelm Brøgger (11 October 1884 – 29 August 1951) was a Norwegian archaeologist and politician.

Personal life He was born in Stockholm as a son of professor of geology Waldemar Christofer Brøgger (1851–1940) and Antonie Scheel Siewers (1854–1933). He was a grandson of the book printer Anton Wilhelm Brøgger.

In September 1909 he married Inger Ursin (1882–1941). Already in 1909 he completed his Dr.philos. degree with the thesis Den arktiske stenalder i Norge (The Arctic Stone Age in Norway). From 1909 to 1913 he worked as a curator at Stavanger Museum. He wrote a book on the city's medieval history and founded the local branch of the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments.

He was hired at Universitetets Oldsaksamling at the Royal Frederick University in 1913, and became its director and a professor in 1915. He also contributed via the Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, and was a driving force in establishing the Viking Ship Museum. From 1918 to 1934 he chaired Norske Museers Landsforbund, He edited the journals Oldtiden, St. Hallvard and Acta Archaeologica, and was also a co-editor for volumes seven through ten of the biographical dictionary Norsk biografisk leksikon. Among his most important works is Ertog og øre (1921), where he combined archeological findings with law texts from the Gulating and Frostating. He wanted to become rector of the university, but this did not happen.

Brøgger was involved in politics as well—again like his father. He became a deputy central board member of the Liberal Left Party in 1929, and advanced to deputy chairman already in 1930. The elected chairman, Karl Wefring, was not able to function, and Brøgger was therefore acting party chairman until 1931. He then continued as a central board member until 1933, then a deputy member. Representing the constituency of Oslo, he served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway during the 1928–1930 term, and participated in sessions of the Standing Committee on Finance in May 1928 and April 1930. He was a member of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights.

Brøgger was a member of the Committee for Cultural War Preparedness , established in 1938 under supervision of the Director for Cultural Heritage, Harry Fett. Shortly after the Second World War broke out in 1939, Brøgger initiated a rescue operation to save the most important items from Oldsaksamlingen, which were secretly evacuated and placed in a bank safe at Fagernes.

Brøgger was also a board member of the National Theatre. including Brøgger, Unlike the ordinary board members Harald Grieg, Johannes Sejersted Bødtker and Francis Bull, Both his sons spent time at Grini as well.

Brøgger was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters from 1914 and the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters from 1927, and was decorated with the Order of St. Olav in 1932. He was a co-founder of the Norwegian Archaeological Society, and served as secretary-general until his death.