Gerhard Brandt Naeseth (April 14, 1913 – June 10, 1994) was an American librarian and genealogist who specialized in the field of Norwegian-American immigration.
As a young boy, he sought to follow in his father's footsteps, but an uncle recognized early on that Naeseth had more of the traits of a librarian.
For this work, Naeseth was awarded the Knight's Cross, First Class, Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1978.
Subsequent volumes have been completed by Blaine Hedberg, former executive director of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library.
[3] Naeseth founded the Vesterheim Genealogical Center in 1974, working out of a temporary office at the University of Wisconsin library in Madison and slowly acquiring a vast collection of resources.