Stian Herlofsen Finne-Grønn

Stian Herlofsen Finne-Grønn (31 August 1869 – 1 November 1963) was a Norwegian genealogist.

He was born in Risør as the son of engineer Samuel Grønn (1838–1898) and Jacobine Finne (1845–1912). In October 1900 he married Margrethe Borchgrevink (1873–1963), a daughter of Sofie Borchgrevink.^[1] They had the sons Hans Finne-Grønn, a painter, and Jørgen Finne-Grønn, an ambassador.^[2][3]

He finished his secondary education in 1888, and after a some years where he studied and worked as an architect, he enrolled in law studies. He graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1899. His first genealogical work was about lineages in his native Risør, and was published in several volumes between 1895 and 1901. He was a secretary in Statistics Norway from 1900 to 1907, then worked in the National Archival Services of Norway from 1907 to 1914. From 1914 to 1939 he worked in the archival services of Oslo city.^[1]

In 1906 he created the periodical Norsk tidsskrift for genealogi, personalhistorie, biografi og litteraturhistorie, which was Norway's first periodical on genealogy. Editors were Finne-Grønn, Erik Andreas Thomle and Christoffer Morgenstierne Munthe.^[4] Norway did not have a national genealogical society, rather there was a Dano-Norwegian organization Samfundet for dansk-norsk Genealogi og Personalhistorie. Finne-Grønn chaired the Norwegian branch from 1919 to 1920.^[1] In 1926 Finne-Grønn founded the Norwegian Genealogical Society together with Munthe and Sigurd Segelcke Meidell, among others.^[4] He was the first chairman, from 1926 to 1929,^[5] and as the organization launched a new periodical Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift, Finne-Grønn edited it from 1926 to 1936 and 1947 to his death.^[1]

He also founded what is today known as Oslo City Museum, which developed from the organization Foreningen Det gamle Christiania. He became curator of this organization in 1912, and was the director from 1920 to 1949.^[1]

Finne Grønn was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav in 1945. In 1942 he was created an honorary member of the Norwegian Genealogical Society and the Genealogical Society of Finland. A Festchrift was issued for his seventy-fifth birthday. He died in November 1963 in Oslo.^[1]

References

1. Bratberg, Terje (2001). "Stian Herlofsen Finne-Grønn". In Helle, Knut. Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian) 3. Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
2. Steenstrup, Bjørn, ed. (1973). "Finne-Grønn, Hans Fredrik Leganger". Hvem er hvem? (in Norwegian). Oslo: Aschehoug. p. 152. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
3. Steenstrup, Bjørn, ed. (1973). "Finne-Grønn, Jørgen Magnus". Hvem er hvem? (in Norwegian). Oslo: Aschehoug. p. 152. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
4. "Norsk Slektshistorisk Forening" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Genealogical Society. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
5. "Formenn i Norsk Slektshistorisk Forening" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Genealogical Society. Retrieved 10 April 2009.