Name Olav Skard | ||
Sikkerhetskonferansen 2019 - Olav Skard Jørgensen
Personal life
He was born in Ostre Gausdal as a son of educators Matias Skard (1846–1927) and his first wife Marie Bo (1849–1883). He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and Per Bo and a half-brother of Torfinn, Bjarne, Eiliv and Sigmund Skard. When Sigmund Skard married Ase Gruda Skard, Asa became Olav's sister-in-law, and he was also an uncle of Halvdan Skard, Malfrid Grude Flekkoy and Torild Skard.
In February 1908 he married Wally Bjerregaard (1879–1966).
Career
He grew up in Gausdal and Levanger, and attended gardening school in Hylla, before enrolling at the Norwegian College of Agriculture, where he graduated in gardening in 1904. He was a teacher at various gardening schools from 1904 to 1918, and from 1919 to 1934 he was a secretary in Selskapet Havedyrkningens Venner (SVH) and editor of their magazine Norsk Hagetidend. From 1921 he was also a board member of SVH, and he later became an honorary member. He was appointed as a professor at the Norwegian College of Agriculture in 1934, and remained there until 1956 (he officially retired in 1951). In 1948 he was appointed a Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. He died in May 1965 in Oslo.