Knut Liestøl

Knut Liestøl (13 November 1881 – 26 June 1952) was a Norwegian folklorist, Nynorsk proponent and politician.

He was born in Åseral as a son of farmers Olav Knutson Liestøl (1855–1944) and Sigrid Røynelid (1856–1950). He was a nephew of Lars Liestøl. In July 1913 he married farmers' daughter Signe Høgetveit. Their son Olav became a noted glaciologist.

A folklorist by profession, he took the dr.philos. degree in 1915 with the thesis Norske trollvisor og norrøne sogor. He was appointed as a docent in Nynorsk at the Royal Frederick University in 1909 and promoted to professor of folkloristics in 1917. He also served in Mowinckel's Third Cabinet as Minister of Education and Church Affairs 1933 to 1935. He was also the chairman of Noregs Mållag from 1925 to 1926.

Liestøl was a fellow of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters from 1916 and graduated as a Knight, Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon and the Order of the Three Stars. He resided at Ramstad. He died in June 1952 in Bærum.

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