Hans Barlien

Hans Andersen Barlien (29 February 1772 – 31 October 1842) was a Norwegian farmer and politician. He has been credited with the establishment of a Norwegian-American immigrant settlement in Sugar Creek, Iowa.

Personal life Barlien was born on 29 February 1772 in Overhalla, Nordre Trondheim county, Norway, to Anders Sørensen and Ane Hansdatter.

Early career At the same time as his 1793 marriage, Barlien took over one of the Barli farms of Trondheim Cathedral. where he built and experimented with a gliding aircraft.

Political career Barlien entered politics in 1814. He did not become a member of the Constituent Assembly, but was elected as a representative from Nordre Trondheim during the session 1815–1816 which became his only term in office.

He was not reelected in the 1818 election. His liberal political and religious views had often put him at odds with both the clergy and the establishment. He could not run in 1820 or 1824 because of an ongoing trial against him.

Immigration and legacy In the year 1837 Hans Barlien emigrated from Norway to the United States. 21.June 1837 Barlien left Christiania on the steamboat "Prinds Carl" and headed to Gothenburg and later Copenhagen. He traveled in July 1837 to the United States, arriving about the middle of September 1837. The exact dates and route is still unknown. He subsequently visited the Fox River settlement of Norwegian immigrants in LaSalle County, Illinois. On 31 October 1842 he died in Sugar Creek, Iowa.

In 1891, a memorial obelisk in honor of Hans Barlien was erected in Overhalla Municipality near Namsos. The street Hans Barliens gate in Oslo is named for Hans Barlien.

Publications Anmerkninger betræffende Pengevæsenet. En Nationalsag, 1815 Om Norriges Grundlov, Repræsentation og Valgene, in Det norske Nationalblad, hf. 7, pp. 232–8 Bemærkninger til Norges Grundlov, Overgaard (Årgård) 1830 Melkeveien, 4 no., Overgård 1830 Bemærkninger til det nye Lovudkast dat. 31. Oct. 1831, Trondheim 1833