Olav Midttun

Olav Midttun
Born	(1883-04-08)8 April 1883 Mauranger
Died	5 January 1972(1972-01-05) (aged 88)
Nationality	Norwegian
Occupations	Philologist biographer magazine editor broadcasting director
Employer(s)	University of Oslo Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation
Relatives	Gisle Midttun (brother)

Olav Midttun (8 April 1883 – 5 January 1972) was a Norwegian philologist, biographer, magazine editor, and media executive. He edited the cultural magazine Syn og Segn for more than fifty years, and was the first national program director of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).

Personal life

Midttun was born in Mauranger as a son of teacher Jørgen Midttun (1855–1938) and Marta Øvrehus (1847–1920). He was a brother of Gisle Midttun. He was married twice, first from October 1909 to Mietze Bentsen, née Sandkuhl (1877–1942), then from 1950 to Borghild Skarmann.

Career

Graduating as cand.mag. in 1910, Midttun lectured at the University of Oslo from 1917 to 1934.

He edited the cultural magazine Syn og Segn for more than fifty years, from 1908 to 1960. He was program manager of NRK from its start in 1933. He was fired in 1940 by the Nazi regime during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, and returned after the Second World War as program manager from 1945 to 1947. He was later a professor at the University of Oslo, and wrote several biographies. He was also a member of Bærum municipal council.