Early Life
Widtsoe was born on the island of Frøya in Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. At birth his hand was attached to the side of his head but he survived the operation to fix this problem. When Widtsoe was two his family moved to the Norwegian mainland city of Namsos. His father, also named John, died in February 1878. This left his mother Anna as a widow with two young sons to take care of: Widtsoe, who was then five, and his little brother Osborne Widtsoe. After this the family moved to Trondheim. Here his mother was introduced to the LDS Church by a shoemaker.
In 1883, Widtsoe immigrated to the United States with his mother and brother. They made it to Utah Territory in mid-November. Widtsoe was baptized a member of the LDS Church the following April.
Read more about this topic: John A. Widtsoe
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