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Halfdan W. Freihow

Norwegian writer

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ5641868 ↗
Source-derived summary

Halfdan Wexel Freihow (born 7 May 1959) is a Norwegian literary critic, novelist, editor and book publisher.

A son of diplomat Håkon Wexelsen Freihow, Halfdan Freihow was born in Mexico City and grew up in Mexico, Spain and Belgium. He graduated from the University of Oslo with a cand.mag. degree. He was a translator, publishing house consultant and literary critic for Morgenbladet, Arbeiderbladet and NRK P2 in his early career. In 1985, together with fellow literary critics André Savik and Lasse Tømte, he published an anthology named Ord for andre. The proceeds would go via the Norwegian Church Aid and Norwegian Red Cross to Ethiopia. In 1989 he became editor-in-chief for the literature periodical Vinduet. In 1990 he quit his literary critic job in Arbeiderbladet to become acting editor of Bokklubben Dagens Bok. In 1991 he went on to the publishing house Aschehoug.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Halfdan W. Freihow” as norwegian writer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Halfdan, Freihow and Norwegian.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1959, 1985, 1989, 1990—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1959-01-01, 1959-05-07—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Halfdan, Freihow and Norwegian providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Halfdan W. Freihow”, the useful work is to connect “norwegian writer” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5641868. VIAF identifies the subject as 39431166. The Library of Congress control number is n85189582. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1959, 1985, 1989 and 1990.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Halfdan W. Freihow”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Halfdan W. Freihow primary sources, Halfdan W. Freihow archive and Halfdan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Halfdan W. Freihow”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Halfdan W. Freihow” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.