Background
Waldemar Christofer Brøgger was born on November 10, 1851, in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, the son of Anton Wilhelm Brøgger, a well-known book publisher, and Oline Marie Bjerring.
University of Oslo, Problemveien 7, 0315 Oslo, Norway
Waldemar Brøgger took the examen philosophicum (a year’s study of various subjects, before specialization) at the University of Oslo in 1870 and then began to study zoology.
Geological Society of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 0BD, United Kingdom
In 1891, Waldemar Christofer Brøgger was awarded the Murchison Medal by the Geological Society of London.
Geological Society of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 0BD, United Kingdom
In 1911, Waldemar C. Brøgger was awarded the Wollaston Medal by the Geological Society of London.
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Lilla Frescativägen 4A, 114 18 Stockholm, Sweden
Waldemar Brøgger was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences from 1890.
Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, Elvegata 17, 7012 Trondheim, Norway
In 1927, Waldemar C. Brøgger was awarded the Gunnerus Medal by the learned society Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters.
Norway
Waldemar Brøgger was made the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.
Sweden
Waldemar Brøgger was made a Commander of the Order of the Polar Star.
Italy
Waldemar Brøgger was made a Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy.
Denmark
Waldemar C. Brøgger was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog.
Russian Empire
Waldemar C. Brøgger was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus, 2nd class.
Oslo, Norway
Statue of Waldemar Christofer Brøgger in an Oslo park.
Waldemar Christofer Brøgger
Waldemar Christofer Brøgger
educator geologist mineralogist politician scientist
Waldemar Christofer Brøgger was born on November 10, 1851, in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, the son of Anton Wilhelm Brøgger, a well-known book publisher, and Oline Marie Bjerring.
After receiving his baccalaureate in 1869, Brøgger took the examen philosophicum (a year’s study of various subjects, before specialization) at the University of Oslo in 1870 and then began to study zoology.
In 1872 Waldemar Brøgger published a paper on the mollusks of the Oslo Fjord. Attracted by Theodor Kjerulf, professor of mineralogy and geology, he transferred to that department and in 1876 received an appointment as an assistant at the mineralogical institute of the University of Oslo. At the same time, he served as an assistant at the Geological Survey of Norway.
During the next few years, Brøgger engaged in rich and varied scientific activity, and in 1881 he was appointed professor at the newly established Stockholms Høgskola (now the University of Stockholm). There he founded a first-class mineralogical institute, as well as teaching and conducting research that dealt mainly with the geology and mineralogy of Norway.
In 1890 Brøgger succeeded Kjerulf as a professor at the University of Oslo, remaining in this post until 1917. His main contribution was in the study of the Permian eruptive rocks of the Oslo district; and he was one of the pioneers in the theory of magmatic differentiation. Besides his writings, Brøgger published, alone or in collaboration with his colleague and successor J. Schetelig, numerous geological maps. Among other important petrographical works is that on carbonatite-containing rocks at Fen, in the Precambrian just outside the Oslo district, published when he was nearly seventy; this type of rock was one of his main concerns. Outstanding among Brøgger’s many mineralogical contributions is his long treatise on pegmatite minerals from Langesund Fjord, in the southernmost part of the Oslo district (1890). Other scientific achievements are Brøgger’s important studies on tectonic geology, Cambro-Silurian stratigraphy and paleontology, and Quaternary geology.
For a time he was rector of the University of Oslo, and between 1900 and 1906 he was a member of the Storting (parliament), where he championed the cause of science.
Waldemar Christofer Brøgger was president of the Norwegian Students’ Union several times. In addition, he was a fellow of the Royal Society and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and for many years served as president of the Norwegian Academy of Science in Oslo.
Waldemar Christofer Brøgger was a man of forceful personality and administrative ability.
Quotes from others about the person
"In an age of specialization he is a specialist, but a specialist in almost every branch of science. That it should have fallen to one man to do so much and so well almost passes belief." - William Whitehead Watts, president of the Geological Society of London
In 1878 Waldemar Brøgger married Antonie Siewers, by whom he had several children.