Marcus Møller Thrane (14 October 1817 – 30 April 1890) was the
leader of the first Norwegian labour movement, later known as
the Thranitter movement, which at its height had approximately
30,000 members, making it the third largest labour movement at
the time, second only to those in France and the United Kingdom,
and the largest counting per capita (Norway having only 1.4
million inhabitants). In 1837, Thrane left Norway and traveled
illegally to France through Germany and Switzerland. He was
arrested, but released after two months. Thrane stayed in Paris
for several months before returning to Norway in December 1837.
After finishing artium in 1840 and a brief period as a student
of theology, Thrane and his newly wed wife Josephine (born Buch)
moved to Lillehammer in 1841 where they ran a private school. In
1846, Thrane moved his teaching to Åsgårdstrand, but moved again
the year after. In March 1847, Thrane came to Åmot in Modum
where he began work as a teacher for the workers children at
Blaafarveværket an