Birthday profile

Robert Normann

Robert Normann, Norwegian guitarist (died 1998)

Born
June 27, 1916
Died
May 20, 1998
Zodiac sign
Cancer
Birth year
1916

About Robert Normann

Robert Uno Normann (27 June 1916 – 20 May 1998) was a Norwegian guitarist and considered a jazz guitar pioneer. == Career == Normann was an autodidact performer on the accordion and tenor saxophone, and eventually on the guitar as his main instrument. He was one of the swing era's most sought guitar soloists in Norway, and was also a pioneer of electric guitar. His first electric guitar was enabled in 1939 by constructing a pickup of copper wire, magnets and pitch, stolen from public phones, Normann told in an interview with Jon Larsen. Background Normann began his musical career as a wandering street and backyard musician at age 12. He was a professional musician in 1937. On Oslo jazz scene he performed in several swing jazz groups. He played with Freddy Valier in 1938, String Swing in 1939–42, Gunnar Due in 1939–41, and simultaneously led his own quartet. In this period he also played tenor saxophone and was with the Pete Brown Big Band from 1945 and various random jazz groups. He played concerts with his own solo section and could be heard at the revue theaters "Edderkoppen" and Chat Noir for several years.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Robert Normann timeline

  1. His first electric guitar was enabled in 1939 by constructing a pickup of copper wire, magnets and pitch, stolen from public phones, Normann told in an interview with Jon Larsen.
  2. In 1988 the jazz recordings of Normann were for the first time collected and reissued on the label Hot Club Records (produced by Jon Larsen, who also wrote biographical articles about Normann).
  3. The organization Friends of Robert Normann Robert Normanns Venner (Friends of Robert Normann) was founded in 1999 with the purpose of collecting and disseminating information about Normann's artistic work.

The world when Robert Normann was born

Robert Normann was born in 1916. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1916

  • Best-selling book"Seventeen" – Booth Tarkington

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentGeorgia Tech defeats Cumberland 222-0, most lopsided football game ever
  • Top headlineBattle of the Somme — 1 million casualties
  • Technology milestoneTanks first used in warfare
  • Notable inventionMilitary tanks
  • World population~1.76B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • U.S. population99.6M

1916 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Robert Normann's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19162026
Population99.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.