Personal life

He was born in Leikanger

Leikanger

is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Leikanger, which is also the administrative center of Sogn og Fjordane county....

 as a son of the bishop and politician Jakob Liv Rosted Sverdrup (1845–1899). He was a brother of Georg Johan Sverdrup, uncle of historian Jakob Sverdrup

Jakob Sverdrup (historian)

-Personal life:He was born in Bergen as a son of the professor of religious studies Georg Johan Sverdrup . He was a nephew of philologist Jakob Sverdrup, a first cousin once removed of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup and Leif Sverdrup, a grandson of Jakob Liv Rosted Sverdrup, a great-grandson of Harald Ulrik...

, a first cousin of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup

Harald Sverdrup

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was a Norwegian oceanographer and meteorologist who made a number of important theoretical discoveries in these fields. Having first worked in Bergen and Leipzig he was the scientific director of the North Polar expedition of Roald Amundsen aboard the Maud from 1918 to 1925...

 and Leif Sverdrup, a nephew of Georg Sverdrup and Edvard Sverdrup

Edvard Sverdrup

Johan Edvard Sverdrup was a Norwegian educator, author and church leader. Edvard Sverdrup was one of the key theologian in the Church of Norway in the first few decades of the 1900s.-Biography:...

, grandson of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, Sr

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup (politician)

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was a Norwegian priest and politician.He was born at Jarlsberg Manor in Vestfold. His brother Johan Sverdrup would found the Liberal Party and become Prime Minister of Norway in 1884....

, grandnephew of Johan Sverdrup

Johan Sverdrup

Johan Sverdrup was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party. He was the first Prime Minister of Norway after the introduction of parliamentarism. Sverdrup was Prime Minister from 1884 to 1889.- Early years :...

 and great-grandson of Jacob Liv Borch Sverdrup

Jacob Liv Borch Sverdrup

Jacob Liv Borch Sverdrup was a Norwegian educator and farmer, known for establishing the first agricultural school in Scandinavia.-Personal life:...

.

Career

He was hired as a lecturer at the University of Oslo

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...

 in 1917, took the dr.philos. degree in 1928 with the thesis Zum germanischen Verbalsystem, and was promoted to professor of Germanic philology

Germanic philology

Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages particularly from a comparative or historical perspective.The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary texts in the earlier phases of the languages. Early...

in 1929. Among his works were a German-Norwegian dictionary, released in two volumes in 1933 and 1936.