Scandinavian playwright, writer, historian, and philosopher Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754) is considered the father of Danish and Norwegian literature, as well as the founder of drama for all of Scandinavia.

Born on December 3, 1684, in Bergen, Norway, Ludvig Holberg was the youngest of twelve children born to Lieutenant Colonel Christian Nielsen Holberg and his wife, Karen Lem. From a family of farmers and himself a member of the Norwegian army, Lieutenant Colonel Holberg was 25 years older than his wife, who was from a merchant family. The family had been wealthy, but were considered poor by the time the playwright was two years old. Tragically, of the couple's 12 children, 6 had died as infants. Their bad luck continued with the death of Holberg's father in 1688; the family was further impoverished by one of Bergen's fires that same year. Holberg suffered another loss eight years later when his mother died, and he and...