Ottar Dahl was a Norwegian historian and historiographer.

He was born in Nannestad

Nannestad

Nannestad is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Teigebyen...

. He took the dr. philos. degree in 1957, worked 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...

 as a scholarship holder from 1957, docent from 1960 and professor from 1966 to 1991. He is currently professor emeritus at the same university.

He was a member of the 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...

. From 1972 to 1975 he chaired the Norwegian Historical Association

Norwegian Historical Association

The Norwegian Historical Association is a Norwegian historical organization.It was founded in 1869 by Michael Birkeland and Ludvig Ludvigsen Daae. Its purpose was to publish the academic journal Historisk Tidsskrift, which it commenced in 1871...

. He died in April 2011.

Selected bibliography

• Historisk materialisme. Historiesynet hos Koht og Bull, 1952
• Om årsaksproblemer i historisk forskning, 1957
• Norsk historieforskning i det 19. og 20. århundre, 1959
• Grunntrekk i historieforskningens metodelære, 1967
• Problemer i historiens teori, 1986
• Fra konsens til katastrofe - kapitler av fascismens historie i Italia, 1996