Christian Tuxen Falbe (5 April 1791– 19 July 1849) was a Danish naval officer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer and diplomat.

Biography

Falbe was born at

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

. He was the son of Ulrik Anton Falbe (1746-95), an inspector at Øresund Custom House and the father of the diplomat Christian Frederik Falbe (1828-1896). In 1807, he became a second lieutenant. He was appointed lieutenant-lieutenant in 1815. By 1820, he became a lieutenant-captain. He was a

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

to the

Beylik of Tunis The Beylik of Tunis (), also known as Kingdom of Tunis ( ar, المملكة التونسية) was a largely autonomous beylik of the Ottoman Empire located in present-day Tunisia. It was ruled by the Husainid dynasty from 1705 until the abolit ...

between 1821 and 1831. In 1833, he was relocated to Greece. Between 1837-38, he undertook a voyage in the Algerian provinces of Constantine and

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. In 1838, he participated in a scientific expedition to study the ruins of

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

. He was the first to perform an archaeological survey on the site of Carthage and the first to produce a modern map of Tunis. In 1841, he resigned as a vessel commander-in-chief. From 1842, he was director of the king's collections at

Amalienborg Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors arou ...

and, from 1847, director of the royal coin cabinet at

Rosenborg Castle Rosenborg Castle ( da, Rosenborg Slot) is a renaissance castle located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the D ...

. In 1813, he received the Knights' Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

. He died in 1849 and was buried at Holmen Cemetery (''Holmens Kirkegård'') in Copenhagen.

References

Bibliography

* ''Recherches sur l’emplacement de Carthage'' (planches), Paris, Imprimé par autorisation du roi à l'Imprimerie Royale, Paris, Service historique de la Défense, Archives du département de la Marine, 1833 * ''Description du plan de Tunis et de Carthage'', Copenhague, Service historique de la Défense, Département de l'armée de terre, 1-M 1675. Asie et Afrique, Mémoires et reconnaissance/inventaire/série 1M tome II. F 141-166, 1832

Literature

* Houda Baïr
« La première carte moderne de Tunis (1831-1832). Le travail de Falbe en contexte »
''Revue européenne de géographie'' (2009). {{DEFAULTSORT:Falbe, Christian Tuxen 1792 births 1849 deaths 19th-century Danish naval officers People from Helsingør 19th-century Danish diplomats Danish cartographers Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Tuxen family