Odd S. Lovoll papers, circa 1975-2010

Biography/History:

Odd Sverre Lovoll was born in Sande, in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. He immigrated to the United States in 1946 and is a naturalized United States citizen. In 1958, Lovoll married Else Navekvien. They have two children: Audrey and Ronald. Audrey has two children, and Ronald has three, all of which are mentioned in dedication pages in a number of his written works. 

Lovoll received his education both in Norway and in the United States, passing university exams at the University of Bergen in 1961 and at the University of Oslo in 1966 and 1967. Lovoll graduated from the University of North Dakota (M.A. 1969) and from the University of Minnesota (Ph.D. 1973). He served on the faculty of the University of Minnesota from 1967 to 1970. For thirty years, Lovoll served on the faculty of St. Olaf College. He retired from the King Olav V Chair in Scandinavian-American Studies at St. Olaf College in 2000. From 1980 until 2001 he served as publication editor for the Norwegian-American Historical Association.

Lovoll was decorated with the Knight's Cross First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit in 1986 by Olav V of Norway. In 1989 he was inducted into membership in The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. He was inducted into the Scandinavian Hall of Fame at the 2001 Norsk Høstfest.

Scope and Content:

The bulk of the material in the Odd S. Lovoll papers revolve around his published works. This includes correspondence, art work, photographs, notebooks, and research notes. Lovoll has published many books, including:

• A Folk Epic: The Bygdelag in America (1975)
• The Promise of America: A History of the Norwegian-American people (1983)
• A Century of Urban Life: The Norwegians in Chicago before 1930 (1988)
• The Promise Fulfilled: A Portrait of Norwegian Americans today (1998)
• Norwegians on the Prairie  Ethnicity and the Development of the Country Town (2006)
• Norwegian newspapers in America: Connecting Norway and the new land (2010)
• Across the deep blue sea: The saga of early Norwegian immigrants (2015)
• Two Homelands: A Historian Considers His Life and Work (2018)