Person:Borghild Dahl (1)

Personal History

Borghild was added to nFS through the extraction program. Additional information was added by me, after finding her in the MN birth or death record index and the SSDI (050-28-0718). As the author of, "Happy All My Life" (c. 1982), her life was cited as an example of Christian living despite serious handicaps by President Thomas S. Monson during his Sunday morning (10/5/08) address to the world during the 178th Semiannual Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. See "Finding Joy in the Journey" at [1]

The following Biographical Sketch was found at “The Children’s Literature Research Collection” on the internet at [2].

"Borghild Dahl was born Feb. 5, 1890, in Minneapolis, MN, and died Feb. 20, 1984. She was an educator, author, and lecturer. The daughter of Norwegian immigrants, she reveals in her work the bond she felt with her heritage, and the struggles she endured with a lifelong eye aliment that eventually led to total blindness. She received her A.B. from the U of MN in 1912, and her M.A. from Columbia U. in 1923. In 1924 she became the first woman of a foreign country to be selected Norsk Akademiker at the U. of Oslo in Norway. From 1912 to 1922 she taught at several Midwest high schools, and from 1926-1939 was a professor of literature and journalism at Augustana College. Her first book, Glimpses of Norway , was privately printed in 1935, and was followed by numerous books of interest to young adults. She also wrote for younger children. In discussing her work, Ms. Dahl said, "Every person who writes draws on his own life or his environment or what others tell him or what he reads. However indirect these may be, they still reflect some phase of his own living." In 1950, Ms. Dahl received the St. Olaf award from the king of Norway for her work in promoting good relations between Norway and the United States. In 1980, she received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the U of MN." Biographical Source: Something About the Author, vol, 7, 37.