Hans Olav Lahlum
Norwegian chess player
Hans Olav Lahlum (born 12 September 1973) is a Norwegian historian, crime author, chess player and organizer, and politician. He has written biographies on Oscar Torp and Haakon Lie, and a history book about all the Presidents of the United States.
On May 22–23, 2013, he was interviewed by VG for 30 hours, 1 minute and 44 seconds, setting a Guinness World Record for the longest interview ever, beating the previous record by over four hours.
Career
Born in Mo i Rana, Lahlum grew up in Rødøy Municipality, a small community that he did not find enjoyable; he called his own childhood "gloomy". Lahlum finished his cand.philol. degree (master's degree) in history from the University of Oslo in 2002, including subjects in political science and history of religion. Since completing his studies, he has at times been a lecturer and advisor at the Lillehammer University College.
Biographies and history books
His first biography was a 560-page book on former prime minister Oscar Torp, which was published in 2007. The history book on the US presidents was published in 2008. The biography included regular biographical coverage of each president's policy, but also more "tabloid" coverage about matters such as relationship trouble and drinking habits.
“Hans Olav Lahlum” enters the record as norwegian chess player. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Hans, Olav and Lahlum can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Hans Olav Lahlum” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Hans, Olav and Lahlum provides the most credible route into that argument.
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 Q3126992. VIAF identifies the subject as 58869054. The Library of Congress control number is no2007116944. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1973, 2013, 2002 and 2007.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. 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.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hans Olav Lahlum”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hans Olav Lahlum primary sources, Hans Olav Lahlum archive and Hans research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hans Olav Lahlum”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hans Olav Lahlum” 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.