Born Dec. 22, 1807, in Bergen; died Oct. 21, 1873, in Christiania. Norwegian poet and critic.
Welhaven received a theological education and was a professor of philosophy at Christiania. He transmitted the influence of Danish culture and language into Norwegian literature. Welhaven carried on arguments with H. Wergeland from the position of patriarchal, national romanticism. In his collection of satirical sonnets entitled Norway’s Twilight (1834), Welhaven ridiculed Wergeland’s patriotic convictions. Welhaven’s lyrical works (Poems, 1839, and Collected Poems, 1860) reveal his knowledge of Norwegian nature and the daily life of the peasants.