Personal life

Gran was born in Tønsberg

Tønsberg

is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....

 as the son of naval captain August Kriegsmann Gran (1844–1895) and his wife Agnes Hasberg (1846–1928). He was the paternal grandson of politician Jens Gran

Jens Gran

Jens Gran was a Norwegian politician.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1839, 1845 and 1848, representing the constituency of Bergen....

, nephew of businessperson Jens Gran, Jr., first cousin of aviator Tryggve Gran

Tryggve Gran

Jens Tryggve Herman Gran DSC, MC was a Norwegian aviator, explorer and author. He was the first pilot to cross the North Sea.-Background:...

 and second cousin of writer Gerhard Gran

Gerhard Gran

Gerhard von der Lippe Gran was a Norwegian literary historian, professor, magazine editor, essayist and biographer.-Personal life:...

. He married Margrethe Kristofa Holm (1877–1932) in August 1897.

Career

Gran finished

Examen artium

Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1630...

 his secondary education at Kristiania Cathedral School

Oslo katedralskole

Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian as Oslo katedralskole and more commonly as "Katta" is an upper secondary school located in Oslo, Norway. The school offers the college preparatory studiespesialisering of the Norwegian school system...

 in 1888, and graduated from the Royal Frederick University

University of Oslo

The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

 with the cand.real. degree in 1894. In the same year he was hired as a lab assistant at the University Botanical Garden. He originally studied phycology

Phycology

Phycology is the scientific study of algae. Phycology is a branch of life science and often is regarded as a subdiscipline of botany....

 under Nordal Wille

Nordal Wille

Johan Nordal Fischer Wille was a Norwegian botanist. He was a professor at the Royal Frederick University from 1893 to his death, founded the laboratory at the University Botanical Garden and co-founded the Natural History Museum.-Personal life:Wille was born in Hobøl as the son of physician Hans...

, but from 1897 he worked with marine zoology

Marine biology

Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...

 under Johan Hjort

Johan Hjort

Johan Hjort FRS was a Norwegian fisheries scientist, marine zoologist, and oceanographer. He was among the most prominent and influential marine zoologists of his time.- The early years :...

, and together with hydrographer Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...

.

Gran especially concentrated on planktology

Planktology

Planktology is the study of plankton, various microorganisms that inhabit bodies of water. The field encompasses a variety of topics, including primary production, and energy flow. The carbon cycle is a recent area of interest....

, and took the doctorate in 1902 with the thesis Das Plankton des norwegischen Nordmeeres, following field study in the Norwegian Sea

Norwegian Sea

The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a...

. In the same year he was among the founders of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea is the world’s oldest intergovernmental science organization. ICES is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, where its multinational Secretariat staff of 51 provide scientific, administrative and secretarial support to the ICES community...

. He worked as a research fellow

Research fellow

The title of research fellow is used to denote a research position at a university or similar institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a principal investigator...

 at Bergens Museum

Bergen Museum

The Bergen Museum is a university museum in Bergen, Norway. Founded in 1825 with the intent of building large collections in the fields of culture and natural history, it became the grounds for most of the academic activity in the city, a tradition which has prevailed since the museum became part...

 from 1901 to 1905 and as a professor of botany and director of the University Botanical Garden in Kristiania

University of Oslo

The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

 from 1905 to 1940. Notable publications include the German-language Diatomeen (1908), Pelagic Plant Life (1912) and A quantitative study of the phytoplankton in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine (with Trygve Braarud

Trygve Braarud

Trygve Braarud was a Norwegian botanist. He specialized in marine biology, and was affiliated with the University of Oslo for most of his career.-Career:...

, 1935). The two former were used as reference works in education for several decades.

He was a member of Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway.-History:The University of Oslo was established in 1811. The idea of a learned society in Christiania surfaced for the first time in 1841. The city of Throndhjem had no university, but had a learned...

, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...

 and the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters

Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters

Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters is a Danish non-governmental science Academy, founded 13 November 1742 by permission of the King Christian VI, as a historical Collegium Antiquitatum...

. He was awarded the Alexander Agassiz Medal

Alexander Agassiz Medal

The Alexander Agassiz Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for an original contribution in the science of oceanography. It was established by Sir John Murray in honor of his friend Alexander Agassiz.-Recipients:-References:NotesA...

 in 1938, and was a Knight of the Danish Order of the Dannebrog

Order of the Dannebrog

The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...

, the Swedish Order of the Polar Star

Order of the Polar Star

The Order of the Polar Star is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim....

 and the Turkish Order of the Medjidie.

Gran was also a choir singer, a keen horticulturalist (chairman of the Norwegian Horticulture Society

Norwegian Horticulture Society

The Norwegian Horticulture Society is an interest organisation in Norway.It was established as Selskabet Havedyrkningens Venner in 1884. Its purpose is to promote gardening interests. It issues the magazine Norsk Hagetidend. Chairman of the board is Ole Petter Vik, and the organizational...

 from 1908 to 1938), vice chairman of the Norwegian-British Friendship Society from 1921 to 1929 and a member of the Oxford Group

Oxford Group

The Oxford Group was a Christian movement that had a following in Europe, China, Africa, Australia, Scandinavia and America in the 1920s and 30s. It was initiated by an American Lutheran pastor, Frank Buchman, who was of Swiss descent...

. He died in 1955 in Oslo.