Magnus Andersen

Magnus Andersen (28 November 1857, Larvik - 9 July 1938) was a Norwegian naval officer, civil servant and pressman. He was, among other things, Norway's first director of shipping from 1903 to 1911, and founder of the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv.

He went to sea at the age of fifteen, and worked his way up from deckhand to chief mate within four years. In the summer of 1880, Andersen became captain of the schooner Ludvig

The First Atlantic Crossing In 1886 Andersen announced his plans to sail the open schooner Ocean, from Kristiania (Oslo) across the Atlantic to New York. In May 1886, several Norwegian newspapers reported that the public may view the schooner at the Vippetangen boathouse below Akershus Fortress in the run-up to the scheduled departure date, with admission cost of 20 øre for adults and 10 øre for children. He sailed Viking from Kristiania to the World's Fair in Chicago, where Columbus' discovery of America was celebrated. Andersen intention was to put in focus Leif Eiriksson, who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental America, approximately 500 years before Christopher Columbus, and he did indeed receive a warm welcome in Chicago.

Later Positions In 1894 Andersen resigned as editor of Norges Sjøfartstidende and started GÅ PÅ, a weekly magazine for sailors. From 1896 to 1901 Andersen ran an export and import business, while also running the maritime newspaper named Kysten. In 1903, Andersen was appointed as the first Shipping Director of the newly established Norwegian Maritime Authority. His tenure was controversial and he resigned in 1911 and got severance pay. In 1913 he became muster manager in Kristiania, which he held until he retired due to age in 1927.