musician, concert violinist in Europe before visiting the U.S. In 1843 he made his first concert tour in America, returned again in 1852, and made his first concert appearance in Wisconsin in 1853. For a number of years he gave concerts throughout the U.S., and for a time intended to become a citizen, but did not complete his naturalization. Bull gave his first concert in Madison in 1856, but his health stricken, he returned to Europe in 1857, remaining there for several years. In 1868 he returned to Wisconsin, and in Madison met Sara Thorp, daughter of Eau Claire lumber baron, Joseph G. Thorp (q.v.). Bull's first wife, a Parisian girl, had died in 1862, and in 1870 he married Sara Thorp. Thereafter for several years the Bulls resided in Madison in a mansion deeded by Thorp to his daughter, and during this period, Bull became a popular symbol of Norwegian culture. He gave lavish entertainments in his home, and during the 1870's became associated with a group of devotees of Scandinavian culture including Rasmus B. Anderson (q.v.), Aubertine W. Moore (q.v.) and others, that greatly influenced the development of the university's Scandinavian department and made Madison a center for the study of Norse culture. Ill in health and worn out from frequent appearances, Bull returned to Norway with his wife in 1880, retiring to his country estate on Lysoen Island, where he died a few months later. M. B. Smith, Life of Ole BuII (Princeton, 1943); Wis. Mag. Hist., 7; A. W. Moore Papers; WPA MS.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Ole Bull Childhood Places in Norway Photographs for details. See also the Ole Bull Letter.

View a related article at Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]