[1] Hauge was born and grew up on the island of Kyrkjøy in Sjernarøy, part of Finnøy municipality in Rogaland County, Norway.
He completed primary school at Bryne in Time and graduated artium at Voss in Hordaland during 1935.
Hauge is best known for describing the life and adventures of Cleng Peerson, a pioneer Norwegian immigrant to the United States in the 1820s.
His trilogy included: Hundevakt (1961; "Midwatch”), Landkjenning (1964; "Land Sighting"), and Ankerfeste (1965; “Anchoring”).
[5] [6] [7] Composer Hallvard Johnsen (1916-2003) wrote an opera based upon Alfred Hauge's Legenden om Svein og Maria.