Career
He hailed from Haugesund. He took the candidate.philol. degree in 1979, and later the dr.philos. degree in 1987 with the thesis Den nye arbeidsdagen. In 1990 he published På klassekampens grunn, volume two of the work Arbeiderbevegelsens historie i Norge, the history of the Norwegian workers" movement.
His last work, Haugesund 1914-1950.
Dei trødde sjøen published in 2004, was about his hometown, linked with broader global economic trends. He was a professor at the University of Bergen since 1993.
Bjørnson died in December 2007 following a long-term lung illness.