Håkon Melberg

Who was Håkon Melberg?

Håkon Melberg was one of Norway's foremost linguists. He knew 42 languages and could communicate in an additional 20.

Born in Halden, Melberg graduated from Halden Latinskole in 1930 with top grades. He went on to study languages and linguistics at the University of Oslo for 6 or 7 years, but left without obtaining a formal degree. He received a scholarship to study modern English in London as preparation for a professorate in English, and wrote the novel 'Solen går aldri ned' in 1938. Melberg then received research funding from NAVF to study Celtic languages, staying in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Bretagne for long periods. To support a rather meagre economy and encourage the work with Celtic languages, Thomas Coats 2nd Baron Glentanar and the Earl of Bute gave Melberg a sum of money that he did not use himself, but instead handed over to Oslo University in support of a Celtic institute.

During the occupation years in Norway, Melberg was one of the leaders of XU Pan, a spy organisation that collected secret German information and transmitted it to London. This work is described in the book 'Dobbeltspill - Nazilensmannen som lurte tyskerne' by T. Brynildsen and H. Melberg.