Marcus Møller Thrane (14 October 1817 – 30 April 1890) was a Norwegian author, journalist, and the leader of the first labour movement in Norway. It was later known as the Thrane movement (Thranebevegelsen). Early life Thrane was born in Christiania, now Oslo, in 1817. Shortly after his birth, his father, a merchant and managing director in Norges Rigsbank, was arrested for involvement in corruption, which devastated the family's reputation. At only 15, Thrane was orphaned and had to move in with friends of the family. In 1837, Thrane left Norway and traveled to France through Germany and Switzerland. Thrane stayed in Paris for several months before returning to Norway in December 1837. After finishing the examen artium (university admission exam) in 1840 and a brief period as a student of theology, Thrane and his new wife, Maria Josephine Buch, moved to Lillehammer in 1841, where they ran a private school. In 1846, Thrane moved his teaching to Åsgårdstrand. In March 1847, Thrane came to Åmot in Modum, where he began work as a teacher for the workers' children at the large industrial company, Blaafarveværket. It was there that he experienced his first political awakening. In April, the year after the company was experiencing difficulties, Thrane, together with 250 workers, was sacked. The family then moved to Drammen, the hometown of his wife, where Thrane became the editor of the local newspaper , but because of his radical opinions, he was fired after only five months. He had already begun his political activities. Labour movement On December 27, 1848, Thrane founded (Drammen Labour Union) with 160 members. The following year, several other local unions joined a national organization, and Thrane printed the first edition of the union's paper, . In May 1850, the union delivered a petition to King King Oscar II of Sweden and the Norwegian Storting (parliament), which was signed by 13,000 members. The union asked for universal voting, the extension of mandatory military service to those with property, equality before the law, better schools, low or no border taxes on necessary goods, such as grains, and special support for poor farmers in the form of arable land on reasonable terms. The union was primarily a union for agricultural workers and crofters and so it cannot be seen as a direct precedent for Norway's later labour movements. In November, the government dismissed the petition. The union's national conference,