Halfdan Bryn (20 May 1864 – 5 March 1933) was a Norwegian physician and physical anthropologist.
Bryn was born in Trondheim, the son of the physician Thomas Bryn (1813–1902) and of Kristine Emilie Karoline Richter (1826–1869). He was a grandson of Thomas Bryn, Sr., and a brother of Knud Ørn Bryn and Alfred Jørgen Bryn. In November 1892 he married Wilhelmine "Willa" Thane (1873–1929). He was also an uncle of Alf Bonnevie Bryn and Finn Bryn.[1]
Bryn took his examen artium in 1882 and graduated cand.med. from the University of Oslo in 1889.
Bryn practiced first as a physician in Dakota and New York between 1890 and 1891, before working as a chief resident at the hospital in Trondheim from 1891 to 1892, and then starting his own medical practice. However, he was conscripted as an army doctor, at first with the rank of lieutenant. He served at first as a military doctor in Trondheim, from 1894 holding the rank of captain. He was head of the Decorative Line Company from 1901 to 1904 and of the land conservation partnership from 1904 to 1907. In 1911 he was appointed brigade major and from 1916 was medical physician to 5 Brigade, remaining in this position until 1924, when he was discharged from the military.[1]
As an army doctor, Bryn had good opportunities to study men from different parts of the country. His work with military recruits inspired him to do research on physical anthropology. Recognizing his interest, Colonel Hans Daae made it possible for him to conduct studies in the field, sometimes almost on a full time basis. In 1914 he published his first anthropological work, Anthropological surveys I, and in 1917 he won the King Haakon VII gold medal for another work. That same year he received a scholarship from the Nansen Fund for conducting anthropological studies in Norway.[1]
After Bryn left the military, he concentrated on anthropological research. Despite his relatively advanced age, he was extremely productive and provided a number of interesting contributions to the country's anthropology, at a time when industrialization and restructuring of society had not yet managed to put their mark on the population. Already in 1921 he had presented two remarkable works, Selbu and Tydal. In 1921 he published the controversial article En nordisk Cro-Magnon type, which claimed that people in Tydal were descendants of the Cro Magnon. He released volume one of the uncompleted work Anthropologia Norwegica in 1925, and Die Somatologie der Norweger together with Kristian Schreiner in 1929. In 1932 he published Norwegische Samen, being one of the first to take an interest in the physical anthropology of the Sami people.[1][2]
Despite not holding a doctoral degree, Bryn was a fellow of the learned societies Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters from 1892 and of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters from 1923. [1] He served as praeses of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters from 1926 to 1933.[3] He also received the honorary degree at Uppsala University in 1927. He was also a member of Trondhjem city council from 1898 to 1914, and chaired the Norwegian Medical Association from 1921 to 1922. He died in March 1933 in Trondheim (the new city name from 1931).[1]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Axel Sommerfelt |
Praeses of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters 1926–1933 |
Succeeded by Ragnvald Iversen |