Rasmus Flo

Rasmus Flo (29 September 1851- 30 November 1905) was a Norwegian teacher, philologist, magazine editor and translator. He was a noted proponent of the use of the Nynorsk language.

Biography

Rasmus Flo was born in Stryn near the northern border of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. He was a farmer's son from the small village of Flo, in the traditional district of Nordfjord. At the age of 20, he ventured his home to go to Stord in Hordaland. He was a substitute teacher while he studied liberal arts in 1873 and philosophy in 1881. From 1878 to 1885 he was a teacher at the town of Kongsvinger between school. Later he was an intern at the graduate school in Tromsø and then spent two more years teaching in the Valdres municipal schools.

Flo wrote frequently in various journals and magazines, mostly concerning language issues, as well as about related social issues. In 1899, he was included in the first official orthography committee for the national idiom, which focused on spelling in Nynorsk. He was the first editor of the magazine Syn og Segn. He also served as director of Det Norske Samlaget from 1894-1903.