Sigurd Segelcke Meidell

Who was Sigurd Segelcke Meidell?

Sigurd Segelcke Meidell was a Norwegian journalist, genealogist and novelist.

He was born in Bergen as a son of sea captain Hartvig Segelcke Meidell and Malin Gohde. His father's family hailed from Kvinnherad, and his mother's family was Swedish. He was the brother of Fascist politician Birger Meidell. In August 1908 he married Nunne Thorbjørnsen.

Meidell grew up in Hamar. He finished his secondary education in 1898, enrolled in law studies and graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1905. From 1906 to 1908 he was a foreign affairs journalist and theatre critic in the newspaper Morgenbladet. He also worked as the Kristiania city correspondent of Bergens Aftenblad and Trondhjems Adresseavis. In 1908 he co-founded and edited the sports magazine Sport.

In 1926 he was among the founders of the Norwegian Genealogical Society, together with Stian Herlofsen Finne-Grønn and Christopher Morgenstierne Munthe, among others. This was Norway's first national genealogical society. He was the chairman of the organization from 1940 to 1943, taking over from Halvdan Koht who went into exile following the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940. On the very same day, his brother was named as Minister of Church and Education in the Vidkun Quisling government that attempted a coup d'etat.