He was born in Rognan in Saltdal Municipality in Norway. Originally, he was a Norwegian wrestler in Nordland, but one and a half years before the 1904 Olympic Games, he left Norway for the United States. He was affiliated with the Brooklyn-based Norwegian Turnverein gymnastic society. Hansen was sponsored by the Norwegian Turnverein at the Olympics in 1904. Hansen won three matches at the 1904 Olympics and the gold medal in the freestyle heavyweight category, wrestling on the United States team.[2]
His first name was spelled "Bernhoff" by FILA and in an article by The New York Times from January 16, 1918. By the time of the article, he was referred to as a "Norwegian light-heavyweight wrestler". Hansen died in New York City at the age of 73.
In 2012, Norwegian historians found documentation showing that Hansen was registered as an "alien" (foreigner) as late as 1925 and questioning whether he ever received American citizenship. The historians thus petitioned to have Hansen's gold registered as Norwegian.[3]
