Nordbye was born at Urskog (spelled Aurskog since 1918) in Akershus, Norway.
[1] He was the son of Halvor Olsen Nordbye (1850–1894) and Anna Kristine Aarnæs (1856–1940).
[1] Nordbye received a recess appointment from President Herbert Hoover on March 18, 1931, to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, to a new seat authorized by 46 Stat.
He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1958 to 1962.
He was the last federal judge in active service to have been appointed by President Hoover.