Nordahl Rolfsen

Johan Nordahl Brun Rolfsen (12 June 1848 – 18 January 1928) was a Norwegian writer, educationalist and teacher, journalist, translator and speaker. He is best known for the series of five readers for elementary school, (1892–1895), which became the most widely-used schoolbook in Norway.

Family Rolfsen was born in Bergen. His parents were merchant and later bank teller Rasmus Rolfsen and Jannikke Brun. He was great-grandson of poet and bishop of Bjørgvin Johan Nordal Brun, and grandson of shipmaster, shipowner and member of the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly Jens Rolfsen. He married Hedevig Martha Hastrup Birch in 1885. He was the father of painter Alf Rolfsen.

Early life Rolfsen finished his education at Bergen Cathedral School in 1866, and continued his studies in Christiania. He worked as a teacher at from 1870 to 1872 and at from 1873 to 1876. He issued his collection of poetry and stories, , in 1874. In 1877 he moved to Bergen, working as an instructor at the theatre Den Nationale Scene. He became determined to be a dramatist, and travelled to Denmark where two of his plays were performed, (1878, Copenhagen) and (1880, Copenhagen). The readers (Transl. Reading book for primary school) were issued 1892–1895 (five volumes), and were later reissued numerous times. They would become the standard readers in Norwegian elementary schools until Thorbjørn Egners lesebøker took over in the 1950s.

Rolfsen worked as a full-time writer and editor the rest of his life, and also as a translator, journalist, researcher and speaker. In 1894 he issued . He was editor of the 1900 two-volume work (Norway in the 19th century).

Rolfsen was leader of the Norwegian Students' Society, and later chairman of the Norwegian Authors' Union. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1912.