Marcus Thrane
| Marcus Thrane | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 14, 1817 Christiania, Norway |
| Died | April 30, 1890 (aged 72) Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S.A. |
Marcus Møller Thrane (14 October 1817 – 30 April 1890) was a Norwegian author, journalist, and the leader of the first Norwegian labor movement, later known as the Thrane movement (Norwegian: Thranebevegelsen).
Thrane was born in Christiania in 1817. Shortly after his birth, his father, a merchant and managing director in Norges Rigsbank, was arrested for involvement in corruption, a case that devastated the family's reputation. Later, only fifteen years old, Thrane was orphaned and had to move in with friends of the family.
In 1837, Thrane left Norway and traveled to France through Germany and Switzerland. Thrane stayed in Paris for several months before returning to Norway in December 1837. After finishing artium in 1840 and a brief period as a student of theology, Thrane and his newly wed wife, Maria Josephine Buch, moved to Lillehammer in 1841 where they ran a private school. In 1846, Thrane moved his teaching to Åsgårdstrand, but moved again the year after.
In March 1847, Thrane came to Åmot in Modum where he began work as a teacher for the workers' children at the large industrial company, Blaafarveværket. It was here he experienced his first political awakening. In April, the year after the company was experiencing difficulties, Thrane together with 250 workers were sacked.
The family then moved to Drammen, the hometown of his wife, where Thrane became the editor of the local newspaper Drammens Adresse, but because of his radical opinions, he was fired after only five months. At this time, Thrane had already begun his political activities.
On December 27, 1848 Thrane founded Drammens arbeiderforening (Drammen labor union) with 160 members. The following year several other local labor unions were initiated under a national organization and Thrane printed the first edition of the union's paper Arbeiderforeningernes Blad. In May 1850, the union delivered a petition to King Oscar II of Sweden and the Norwegian Storting (parliament) signed by 13,000 members. The union asked for universal voting; universal mandatory military service (not just for those without property); equality before the law; better schools; low or no border taxes on necessary goods such as grains; and a special support for poor farmers in the form of arable land on reasonable terms.
...
Wikipedia