| Leif Størmer | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 1, 1905 Kristiania, Norway |
| Died | May 15, 1979 (aged 73) Oslo, Norway |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Alma mater | University of Oslo |
| Notable awards | Order of St. Olav, Defence Medal 1940–1945, Reusch Medal, Nansen Award |
| Spouse | Ingegerd Wiborg Alten |
Leif Størmer (1 July 1905 – 15 May 1979) was a Norwegian paleontologist and geologist. He was professor of historical geology at the University of Oslo from 1946 to 1975. His father was the famous mathematician Carl Størmer.
Størmer was born in Kristiania (now Oslo) to Fredrik Carl Mülertz Størmer (1874–1957) and Adelaide Clauson (1877–1973).[1] His brother was Per Størmer (1907–1991), who became a botanist.[2][3] Leif Størmer went to school in Kristiania, and became interested in paleontology and geology. In 1923, he took his examen artium, and studied thereafter at the University of Oslo. He graduated with the cand.mag. and the dr.philos. degrees in 1928 and 1931, respectively. In 1931–32, Størmer resided in the United States with a Rockefeller Foundation grant. On 23 May 1932, he married Ingegerd ("Tutti") Wiborg Alten (1912–) in New York.[1]
In 1930, Størmer was employed as a conservator vicar at the Museum of Paleontology in Oslo. One year later, he took his dissertation Skandinaviske Trinucleidae, which introduced numerous publications on the construction, nature and development of the trilobite. From 1932 to 1937, he was a research fellow, thereupon assistant, and in 1940 conservator at the Museum of Paleontology. In 1946, he was appointed professor of historical geology at the University of Oslo. From 1957 to 1959, he was dean at the university's faculty of science and mathematics. During the Second World War, Størmer participated in the Norwegian resistance movement as a treasurer for Milorg. After the war, he participated in Statens lønnskommisjon av 1946 ("The State's Wage Commission of 1946") and in the committee that prepared the Norwegian law of nature conservation (1956). Størmer also had positions in several Norwegian and international organisations in science after the war. He was notably a board member of the International Paleontological Union and of the International Geological Union.[1] From 1960 to 1965, he headed the International Stratigraphy Commision.[2]
Størmer authored about 70 publications on paleontology and geology in his life. He also wrote a few popular science articles for different Norwegian magazines.[1] In 1940, he became a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.[2] Størmer was concerned about communicating his knowledge in a popular scientific way. He was one amongst three editors of the fourth edition of the popular encyclopedia Aschehougs konversasjonsleksikon and published in 1966 a textbook titled Jorden og livets historie ("The History of the Earth and Life"). In 1961, he was decorated as Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav. He also received the Reusch Medal (1937), the Bergen Price (1945) and the Fridtjof Nansen Price (1965). In May 1979, he died in Oslo, aged 73.[1]