Adrian Benjamin Bentzon (22 April 1777 – 15 January 1827) was Governor of the Danish West Indies from 1816 to 1820.

Biography

He was born in

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

, Norway. He was the son of Hans Jacob Bentzon (1739–1810) and Sophia Hedvig Købke (1755–1810). He graduated from

Bergen Cathedral School Bergen Cathedral School ( Norwegian: ''Bergen Katedralskole'', Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Bergensis'', formerly known as Bergens lærdeskole and Bergen latinskole and colloquially known as Katten) is an upper secondary school in Bergen, Norway. L ...

in 1793 and took his legal exams in 1798 at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

. He was later adjunct and notary of the legal faculty. In 1814, he became part of the government of the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

. In 1816, he was Governor at the level of Major General. He was named as Commander of the

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

in 1817. In 1820, he became embroiled in scandal, and resigned as governor, but in 1825, he was acquitted by the

Supreme Court of Denmark The Supreme Court (, lit. ''Highest Court'', , ) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Denmark. It is based at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen which also houses the Danish Pa ...

. Carl Frederik Bricka.
Adrian Benjamin Bentzon
Dansk biografisk Lexikon

Personal life

In 1807, Bentzon was married to Magdalena Astor (1788–1832), daughter of

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...

. The marriage was not happy, their two children died, and she lived for several years with her parents in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1819, Bentzon was granted divorce. She subsequently married Rev. John Bristed (1778–1855). Bentzon died during 1827 at

Christiansted Christiansted ( , ; ) is the largest town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands of the United States Virgin Islands, a territory of the United States of America. The town is named after King Christian VI of Denmark. History The town was found ...

, St. Croix.

References

External links

Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentzon, Adrian Benjamin Governors of the Danish West Indies Norwegian military leaders 1777 births 1827 deaths People from Tønsberg University of Copenhagen alumni Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog 19th-century Danish politicians 1810s in the Danish West Indies