Hans Aarnes
Hans Aarnes (6 May 1886 – 25 October 1960) was a Norwegian entrepreneur, journalist, newspaper editor, magazine editor, publisher and a strong supporter of the Nynorsk language.
He was born in Vatne, Møre og Romsdal, the son of farmer Kristen Nilsson Aarnes and Marta Kristensdotter Vestre. In 1904 he trained as a seaman and then worked as a sailor, trader and fisherman. In 1907 he published the one-act play Sundagskveld, and in 1933 the poetry collection Kviteburd. He married Gina Villesvik in 1913.
Aarnes edited or helped edit seven newspapers and magazines. He was editor of Aarvak (1909–1911), worked for Norig (1911–1913), and edited Hardanger (1913). From 1916 to 1920 he worked at Gula Tidend, and from 1921 to 1923 at Bondebladet. He edited Agder Tidend from 1923 to 1932.
In 1919 he started Bladmannaskulen, Norway’s first journalism school, and published several journalism handbooks. As a champion of Nynorsk he founded the news agency Norsk Pressekontor in 1918 and the magazine Nynorsk Vekeblad in 1933. He began the comic series Vangsgutane in Nynorsk Vekeblad, with Leif Halse as writer and Jens R. Nilssen as illustrator, as a local alternative to The Katzenjammer Kids.
Aarnes served on the board of Det Norske Teatret from 1935 to 1940 and founded the publishing house Fonna Forlag in 1940. He started the Nynorsk encyclopedia Norsk Allkunnebok, published from 1948 to 1966. He was active in Noregs Mållag and helped establish several local chapters in the 1950s.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:58 (CET).