Andreas Leigh Aabel

Morten Andreas Leigh Aabel (10 February 1830 – 9 May 1901) was a Norwegian physician and poet. Biography He was born at Sogndal in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. His father, Peter Pavels Aabel (1795-1869), was the vicar and senior priest in Sogndal from 1824–1833. He was a brother of priest, Oluf Andreas Aabel (1825–1895). He enrolled as a student in 1848, graduated with the cand.med. degree in 1856. Professionally, he worked as a physician from 1853 to 1899, and was a district physician in several Norwegian districts. He first worked as a district physician in Hammerfest followed by private practice in Åsnes. At the end of the 1850s, Aabel became a doctor at Nes in Romerike. In 1864 he was appointed a district physician in Sunnfjord, and the family settled at Falkenstein in Førde. From 1876 to 1885 he was a doctor in Nord Aurdal in Valdres. In 1885 he was appointed a district doctor at Toten where he stayed for ten years. Aabel moved to Gjøvik in 1895 and in 1899 he retired. While studying he was a member of the Literary Association and the Norwegian Students' Society. He started writing poems and songs, and continued after graduation.