Born: November 18, 1819, Vågå, Gudbrandsdalen, Norway.
Died: December 2, 1863, Ålesund, Norway.
Buried: Ålesund Kirke, Ålesund, Norway.
Knudsen was the son of Knut Olsson Bakken and Anne Pedersdotter Goli, and husband of Karen Regine Thollefsen.
A violinist and organist, he worked in Kristiania, Holmestrand, Kragerø and Ålesund.