(1911-1994)
Background
Knut's parents were Bjørgulv and Sigrid Haukelid, a young couple from Norway who were living in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York while Bjørgulv, an civil engineer, worked for the New York Subway System (1902-1912). Knut and his twin sister, Sigrid Gurie Haukelid, were born on May 17, 1911. Since they were born in America, the twins held dual Norwegian-American citizenship.
In 1914, as tensions in Europe grew (and several months later erupted into World War I), Bjørgulv and Sigrid set off by ship, with their young children Knut and Sigrid, to return to Norway. Their ship was nearby when the Titanic telegraphed for help (April 14, 1914), but did not ultimately take part in the rescue of Titanic's few survivors since the Carpathia was nearer to the doomed ship.
Knut and his sister Sigrid subsequently grew up in Oslo, where his dad worked as an engineer helping to lay out the Oslo subway system. In 1929, Knut came back to America to attend Massachusetts State College. He returned to Norway in 1929 and later completed his education at the Dresden School of Technology and the University of Berlin. He returned to Norway and worked for his father's engineering firm, Haukelid og Five. He was a great amateur sportsman, and loved to hunt reindeer in the mountains as well as to ski. He was a champion ski-jumper.
Wartime Service
When the Nazis invaded Norway in 1940, Knut was part of the group of patriotic Norwegians, who escaped across the Swedish border and headed in England. There, Knut trained as a commando, part of the group planning to head back to Norway as part of the attempt to fight the occupying Nazis.
The story of Knut's return to Norway and what he did as part of the commando team that squelched Hitler's plan to build an atomic bomb is told in this slideshow.
After the war, Knut was a national hero. He was given medals by five countries:
Norway: The King twice awarded Knut The War Cross with Sword (this is the highest Norwegian decoration, comparable to the American Congressional Medal of Honor). He was also awarded the Saint Olaf's Medal with Silver Palm.
England: Knut was awarded The Distinguished Service Order. Churchill personally visited Norway to present Knut with The Military Cross.
France: Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre with Palm and Star.
Sweden: Commander of Kungliga Svardorden
USA: Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm
In later years, Knut worked with NATO in Norway, and wrote a book about his experiences in World War II, called Skis Against the Atom (available through Norwegian-American Press).
See also a biographical sketch on Knut on the Norwegian-American Hall of Fame website by clicking here.