Rasmus Flo
{{Short description|Norwegian academic, writer and translator (1851–1905)}}
{{Use dmy dates |date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Rasmus Flo
| image = Rasmus Flo.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date|1851|9|29|df=yes}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1905|11|30|1851|9|29|df=yes}}
| nationality = Norwegian
| education = Philology, University of Oslo, 1881
| occupation = Teacher, Philologist, Editor, Translator
| known_for = Development of Nynorsk
}}
Rasmus Flo (29 September 1851 – 30 November 1905i) was a Norwegian teacher, philologist, magazine editor, and translator. He was a noted proponent of the use of the Nynorsk language.[http://www.ivaraasen.no/wiki/index.php?title=Rasmus_Flo Rasmus Flo (ivaraasen.no)]{{Cite web |date=19 April 2015 |title=Rasmus Flo - Sogn og Fjordane |url=http://www.nrk.no/sf/leksikon/index.php/Rasmus_Flo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419101714/http://www.nrk.no/sf/leksikon/index.php/Rasmus_Flo |archive-date=19 April 2015|access-date=29 October 2022 }}{{Cite web |title=Minnestein over Rasmus Flo |url=https://leksikon.fylkesarkivet.no/article/5696a39e-20ec-4ef1-8ede-a57dc65cc1ff/ |access-date=29 October 2022|website=leksikon.fylkesarkivet.no |language=no}}{{Cite web |title=Rasmus Flo biografi – heimskringla.no |url=http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Rasmus_Flo_biografi |access-date=29 October 2022|website=heimskringla.no}}
Biography
Rasmus Flo was born in Stryn near the northern border of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. He was a farmer's son from the small village of Flo, in the traditional district of Nordfjord. At the age of 20, he ventured from his home to go to Stord in Hordaland. He worked as a substitute teacher while studying for the "atrium examen," an entrance exam for studying liberal arts at university in Norway. He took the test in 1873 and earned a degree in philology from the University of Oslo in 1881. From 1878 to 1885 he was a teacher at the town of Kongsvinger. Later he was an intern at the graduate school in Tromsø before spending two more years teaching in the Valdres municipal schools.[http://www.nrk.no/sf/leksikon/index.php/Rasmus_Flo Rasmus Flo, Stryn | Kjende personar (NRK)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419101714/http://www.nrk.no/sf/leksikon/index.php/Rasmus_Flo |date=19 April 2015}}
During his years as a student, Flo lived near Olaus Fjørtoft. The two conversed frequently and shared many views and opinions on various social, political, and linguistic issues. Like Fjørtoft, he wrote extensively about dialect. In 1892, he helped Molkte Moe in writing Nordahl Rolfsen's textbook, particularly with spelling and styling in the Nynorsk edition. The work he did on this book fit very well with Flo's own natural sense of style, and he translated many skaldic poems into Nynorsk for the book. Flo was also responsible for a great deal of the work in volumes two and three of Andreas Austild's textbooks. {{cite encyclopedia |title=Rasmus Flo |encyclopedia=Norsk biografisk leksikon|first=Tove |last=Bull |editor=Helle, Knut |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo|url=http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Rasmus_Flo/utdypning |language=Norwegian|accessdate=3 August 2010}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=Rasmus Flo |encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo |url=http://www.snl.no/Rasmus_Flo |language=Norwegian | accessdate=3 August 2010}}
Flo wrote frequently in various journals and magazines, mostly about language issues, as well as related social issues. In 1899, he was included in the first official orthography committee for the national idiom, which focused on spelling in Nynorsk. He was the first editor of the magazine Syn og Segn and also served as director of Det Norske Samlaget from 1894-1903.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Rasmus Flo |encyclopedia=Norsk biografisk leksikon|first=Tove |last=Bull |editor=Helle, Knut |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo|url=http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Rasmus_Flo/utdypning |language=Norwegian|accessdate=3 August 2010}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=Rasmus Flo |encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo |url=http://www.snl.no/Rasmus_Flo |language=Norwegian | accessdate=3 August 2010}} As a result of this and his work on textbooks by Rolfsen and Austild, Flo had a considerable amount of influence on the development of Nynorsk.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Rasmus Flo |encyclopedia=Norsk biografisk leksikon|first=Tove |last=Bull |editor=Helle, Knut |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo|url=http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Rasmus_Flo/utdypning |language=Norwegian|accessdate=3 August 2010}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=Rasmus Flo |encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo |url=http://www.snl.no/Rasmus_Flo |language=Norwegian | accessdate=3 August 2010}}
He was an avid bookworm and heavy tobacco user, according to a statement made by one of his colleagues.
Flo died in Kristiana, Norway (present day Oslo), in 1905.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Rasmus Flo |encyclopedia=Norsk biografisk leksikon|first=Tove |last=Bull |editor=Helle, Knut |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo|url=http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Rasmus_Flo/utdypning |language=Norwegian|accessdate=3 August 2010}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=Rasmus Flo |encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo |url=http://www.snl.no/Rasmus_Flo |language=Norwegian | accessdate=3 August 2010}} He had spent the evening putting together the next edition of Syn og Segn with a colleague and appeared to be in good health before he retired for the night. The following morning he was discovered dead in his bed. A memorial stone was erected in his honour in Flo.
See also
References
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Category:Nynorsk-language writers
Category:Norwegian magazine editors