Johan Hambro

Johan Randulf Bull Hambro (24 October 1915 – 27 February 1993) was a Norwegian journalist, translator and biographer. He was the fourth son of Norwegian politician C. J. Hambro, whose biography he wrote in 1984. He lived in the United States from 1939 to 1982, where he studied and worked as a foreign-affairs journalist, press attaché and consulate-general. He was secretary general of the Norse Federation for 27 years, from 1955 to 1982. He was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav in 1975.

Johan Hambro
Born	Johan Randolf Bull Hambro 24 October 1915 Kristiania, Norway
Died	27 February 1993 (aged 77) Oslo, Norway
Nationality	Norwegian
Education	University of Oslo, Columbia University
Occupation	Journalist, translator, biographer
Notable work	C.J. Hambro: Liv og drøm
Spouse(s)	Lore Aickelin (married 1945)
Parent(s)	C. J. Hambro (1885–1964) and Gudrun Hambro, née Grieg (1881–1943)

Family

Hambro was born on 24 October 1915 in Kristiania, the fourth son of politician C. J. Hambro (1885–1964) and his wife, Gudrun "Dudu" Grieg (1881–1943).[1][2] He was a paternal grandson of Nico and Edvard Isak Hambro, and a brother of Carl Joachim and Edvard Hambro.[3] His namesake was his second great-grandfather, Johan Randulf Bull (1749–1829), Norway's first Supreme Court Justice.[2][4] Hambro married Lore Aickelin in 1945.[1]

Career

He grew up in the Uranienborg neighbourhood in the West End of Oslo, and enrolled at the Royal Frederick University in 1933. Following law studies, he graduated in 1939 with a cand.jur. degree, and travelled to the United States to study at Columbia University in New York.[1] From 1940 to 1945, during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, he was employed at the Norwegian general consulate in New York City.[2][5] He worked as a foreign affairs journalist for the conservative newspaper Aftenposten from 1946 to 1948 and for the Norwegian News Agency from 1949 to 1953.[1][5] He was a press attaché for the Norwegian United Nations delegation in 1953 and 1954.[5][6] After that, he was stationed in New York as a foreign correspondent and radio chronicler for Norway.[1]

In 1955, he succeeded Arne Kildal as secretary general of the non-profit Norse Federation, and became editor of its periodical, The Norseman.[1][2][7] In 1957, Hambro was the chief editor of the Norse Federation's 50th anniversary book, De tok et Norge med seg ("They brought a Norway with them"). He edited its Christmas booklet, Norges Jul ("Norway's Christmas"), in 1975.[1][8][9][10] Hambro was succeeded by Johan Fr. Heyerdahl as secretary general of the Norse Federation in 1982. Two years later, the federation started a summer course for Norwegian students, which it named after Hambro.[11]

Hambro released a biography on his father, C. J. Hambro, in 1984, titled C. J. Hambro: Liv og drøm ("C. J. Hambro: Life and Dream").[2][12] The book was well received by critics, and sold more than 30,000 copies in 1984.[13][14][15] The book is known for revealing many secrets about his father's private life, including his relationship with the actress Gyda Christensen.[12][16] Like his father, Hambro translated many books from English to Norwegian, among them The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand in 1949,[17][18][19] First Among Equals by Jeffrey Archer in 1985,[20] and A Sport of Nature by Nadine Gordimer in 1988.[21]

Death and recognition

In 1958, Hambro was pronounced an honorary citizen of Minneapolis. He was given the Regents Award of St. Olaf College in 1972. Honorary degrees were bestowed by Luther College in 1969 and St. Olaf College in 1979.[15] Hambro was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav in 1975. He died on 27 February 1993 in Oslo, at age 77.[22][23][24]

References

1. "Hambro, Johan Randolf Bull", Hvem er hvem?, ed. Bjørn Steenstrup, 11th ed. (Oslo: Aschehoug, 1973), 206, ISBN 82-03-04886-2.
2. Johan Hambro, C.J. Hambro: Liv og drøm (Oslo: Aschehoug, 1984), front flap and 67, ISBN 82-03-11347-8.
3. "Hambro", Store norske leksikon, accessed 6 June 2017.
4. Paul Thyness,"C J Hambro", in Norsk biografisk leksikon, ed. Knut Helle (Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget, 2001), accessed 14 May 2011.
5. "Johan Hambro", Store norske leksikon, 2009, accessed 6 June 2017.
6. "FN-delegasjon", Verdens Gang, 15 August 1953, 6.
7. "Voldsom ekspansjon i Nordmannsforbundet", Verdens Gang, 8 January 1955, 6.
8. Hambro, De tok et Norge med seg: Nordmanns-forbundets saga gjennom 50 år (Oslo: Dreyer, 1957), OCLC 15005646.
9. Hambro, Norges jul: Nordmanns-forbundets julehefte 1975 (Oslo: Norse Federation, 1975), OCLC 34403295
10. " "Norges Jul" i mange land", Aftenposten, 14 December 1984, 47.
11. "Sommerkurs i USA for norsk ungdom", Aftenposten Aften, 30 March 1984, 9.
12. Turid Larsen, "De nye dristige biografiene", Dagsavisen, 28 November 2007, accessed 6 June 2017.
13. Egil Sundar, "Som et stjerneskudd i den norske bokhøsten: Den store Hambrobiografien", Aftenposten, 1 November 1984, 2.
14. Flemming Dahl, "Hambrobiografien i stadig større opplag: en større suksess enn noen kunne spå", Aftenposten, 22 December 1984, 5.
15. Steinar Wiik, "Johan Hambro 70 år idag: En brobygger", Aftenposten, 24 October 1985, 18.
16. Morten Malmø, "Fagforleggeren", Prosa (Oslo: Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers and Translators Association, 2010), no. 1 OCLC 463955325. ISSN 0805-276X.
17. Norunn Ottersen Seip, "De briljante – Ayn Rand og korstoget mot medlidenheten", Kulturverk, 30 October 2012.
18. Bjørn Gabrielsen, "Gjennombruddets Rand", Dagens Næringsliv, 26 November 2005, 53.
19. Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead (Oslo: Lille måne, 2005), trans. by Hambro, ISBN 9788292605127.
20. Ebba Haslund, "Javel, herr statsminister", Aftenposten, 31 October 1985, 61.
21. "Topp innhold, svak stil", Verdens Gang, 9 April 1988, 59.
22. "Johan Hambro død", obituary in Aftenposten, 4 March 1993, 11.
23. Cemeteries in Norway, DIS-Norge, accessed 15 May 2011 (type "Johan Hambro" in the search field).
24. Paul Thyness, "Johan Hambro", obituary in Aftenposten, 10 March 1993, 11.