Looft was born in
Bærum Municipality to physician Carl August Knutsen and Margery Henriette Caroline Louise Thaulow, and was a grandson of
Heinrich Arnold Thaulow. In 1892 he married Sofie Bolette Gran. Looft graduated as
cand.med. in 1889 and thereafter worked at the
Rikshospitalet in Oslo and the Lungegaardshospitalet in
Bergen. At the latter, he worked within the hospital laboratory and was involved in research on
leprosy with
Daniel Cornelius Danielssen and
Gerhard Armauer Hansen. He went on to publish with Hansen on the microbiology of leprosy. While his early career and research was focused on leprosy, he had a special interest in children's diseases, although
pediatrics was not yet a distinct medical specialty. His doctoral thesis from 1897 was a treatment of
mental disability among children. From 1890 to 1940 he practiced as pediatrician in private practice in Bergen. Alongside
Axel Johannessen, he is regarded as one of Norway's first pediatricians. In addition to his work as physician, he was responsible for a series of
epidemiological investigations among children. Among his conclusions was that appropriate nutrition during pregnancy and infancy was an important factor for the
mental development of the children. He authored a textbook on infant care which was first published in 1912 and was published in several editions until 1938. He also established a mental health school in
Fana Municipality and worked as a school doctor throughout Bergen's schools. Looft died in 1943 in Bergen. ==References==