Viggo Ullmann

Portrait of Viggo Ullmann

Portrait of Viggo Ullmann

Johan Christian Viggo Ullmann (21 December 1848 – 30 August 1910) was a Norwegian educator and politician of Venstre, the Norwegian social-liberal party. He was the son of the author Vilhelmine Ullmann, brother of the feminist Ragna Nielsen and the great grandfather of actress Liv Ullmann.

Career as a teacher

He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1875, after which he worked as a teacher at the Folk High Schools Skulestad, Østre Moland, Landvik, Bratsberg, Drangedal, Gjerpen and Vinje. The liberal Folk High School in Seljord was his work (1880), where he worked for a more vocational approach to the study. In this period, he was also chairman of the publisher Det Norske Samlaget, as well as editor for the newspaper Varden. His pedagogy was influenced by N. F. S. Grundtvig's ideals, where theology and learning was seen as a voluntary act, and obligatory examns were replaced by voluntary self-evaluation. He was also a spokesman of the ideas of Henry George.

Political career

He was the leader of the party Venstre (1893-1894 and 1898-1900), Member of Parliament for Bratsberg 1898-1900, Venstre's parliamentary leader 1893-1894 and President of the Storting 1892-94, 1897 and 1898-1900. He helped The Association for Women's Suffrage (led by his sister, Ragna Nielsen) to write a suggestion for a change of the constitution, something which brought him into conflict with certain religious societies.

Together with Wollert Konow, he was central in Norwegian Peace Association (Norwegian: Norges Fredslag) and was later (in 1890) behind the establishment of The Parliament's Peace Association (Norwegian: Stortingets Fredsforening) and The Peace Letter to the King (1890).

Ullman was First Deputy Member of the Nobel Committee (August 7, 1897 - June 5, 1900).

From 1902 until he died, he was county governor of Bratsberg amt.

Literature

Ullman also published several books:

• Plutarks levnetsbeskrivelser (Plutarch's Lives), 2 volumes, 1876-1877, translation
• Ammianus Marcellinus’s 25 aar av Roms historie (Ammianus Marcellinus’ 25 years of Roman history), 3 volumes, 1877-1881, translation
• Haandbok i verdenshistorien (Handbook to world history), 4 volumes, 1899-1905.

It can also be mentioned that Viggo Ullman as a boy was the model for Viggo Viking in Jørgen Moe's children's book I Brønden og i Tjærnet (In the well and in the pond) in 1855.

Others with the same name

Viggo Ullmann was the great grandfather of Liv Ullmann, whose father was an engineer with the same name, Viggo Ullman.

Norway's first social doctor was his grandchild, also named Viggo Ullmann (Lillehammer, 1920-).

References

• Ivar Fløistad, Viggo Ullmann og Følkehøgskolen i Austre Moland 1873 – 1875
• Østvedt, Einar: «Viggo Ullmann» i Årbok for Telemark 1968

External links

• Viggo Ullmanns dødsfall i kirkebok for Vestre Aker
• Politiske taler av Viggo Ullmann, virksommeord.uib.no