Gunnar Heiberg

Gunnar Heiberg
Gunnar Heiberg, ca 1928.
Born	(1857-11-18)18 November 1857
Died	22 February 1929(1929-02-22) (aged 71)
Nationality	Norwegian
Period	1884–1929
Spouse	Didrikke Heiberg (m. 1885; div. 1896) Birgit Friis Stoltz Blehr (m. 1911–29)

Gunnar Edvard Rode Heiberg (18 November 1857 – 22 February 1929) was a Norwegian poet, playwright, journalist and theatre critic.

He was born in Christiania a son of judge Edvard Omsen Heiberg (1829–1884) and his wife Minna (Vilhelmine) Rode (8 June 1836 – 1917). He was a brother of Jacob, Anton and Inge Heiberg, as well as an uncle of Hans Heiberg, first cousin of Eivind Heiberg, Gustav Adolf Lammers HeibergHelge Rode and Kristofer Hansteen, a first cousin once removed of Bernt, Axel and Edvard Heiberg and a second cousin of Jean Heiberg.

He was married to actress Didrikke Tollefsen (1863–1915), whom he met in Bergen, between 1 April 1885 and 1896. On 15 April 1911 he married Birgit Friis Stoltz Blehr (1880–1933). Through his second wife's sister he was a brother-in-law of Sigurd Bødtker.

Heiberg finished his secondary education in 1874, and enrolled in law studies. Having befriended Gerhard Gran, he came under the influence of Charles Darwin, Georg Brandes and Johan Sverdrup. He became a cultural radical, and made his debut as a poet in 1878. In the autumn that year he spent time in Rome, together with Henrik Ibsen and Jens Peter Jacobsen. His first play Tante Ulrikke was written from 1877, finally printed in 1884, but not staged until 1901. His first play to reach the stage was Kong Midas, premiéring in Copenhagen's Royal Danish Theatre in 1890.