Carl Søyland (May 19, 1894 – December 1978) was a Norwegian born, American author, reporter, editor and community leader.

Background

Carl Søyland was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the son of Tønnes James Søyland (1859–1917) and Kristiane Nilsen (1868–1953). Søyland grew up in Flekkefjord in Vest-Agder, Norway. He immigrated to the United States during 1919 at 25 years of age. In 1926, Søyland settled in Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn. Søyland was the editor-in-chief of Nordisk Tidende from 1940 until his retirement in 1963. Founded in 1891, Nordisk Tidende (now Norwegian American Weekly) was a Norwegian language weekly newspaper published by the Norwegian News Company in Brooklyn, New York.

Carl Søyland

Career

Søyland was decorated in 1946 for his weekly news broadcasts from New York City to Norway during World War II. In 1950 he received the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav from Haakon VII, the King of Norway for advancing the cause and culture of Norway through his writings, and in 1959 King Olav V awarded him Norway's highest honor, the Commander of St. Olaf medal. Søyland wrote two books in Norwegian: Along the Highway and Byway in 1929 and Written in the Sand in 1954. Carl Søyland died in Brooklyn, New York.

Carl Søyland

References

Other sources

Rygg, Andreas Nilsen (1941) Norwegians in New York, 1825—1925 (Brooklyn, New York: Norwegian News Co.) Rygg, Andreas Nilsen (1947) American Relief for Norway: A survey of American relief work for Norway during and after the Second World War (Chicago, Illinois: Arnesen Press) Lovoll, Odd (2010) Norwegian Newspapers in America: Connecting Norway and the New Land (Minnesota Historical Society Press)

Carl Søyland

External links

Portrait of Carl Søyland

The Norwegian American Weekly

Norway's Constitution Day by Carl Søyland

1894 births

1978 deaths

American reporters and correspondents

American newspaper editors

People from Flekkefjord

Norwegian emigrants to the United States

Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal

People from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn