Ananias Christopher Hansen Dekke (22 July 1832 – 22 May 1892) was a Norwegian ship designer, ship owner, art collector and politician. He was the most significant designer of wooden

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...

s in Norway in the second half of the 19th century.

Biography

Dekke was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the son of Johan Mungaard Dekke (1802–74) and Christine Marie Hansen (1809–1880). His father was a master baker and he grew up in his father's bakery courtyard on

Strandgaten Strandgaten is a street in the city centre of Bergen, Norway, west of the bay of Vågen. It starts at Torgallmenningen and follows the eastern shore of the Nordnes peninsula to Tidemands gate, where it becomes Nordnesgaten. The easternmost quarte ...

in Bergen. In 1844, he entered the

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 1848, he started an apprenticeship at

Georgernes Verft Georgernes Verft is an area located on the peninsula of Nordnes in Bergen, Norway. It was named after the shipyard that used to operate in the area. Over time the surrounding area was populated by shipyard workers and is still known as Verftet. ...

on the peninsula of

Nordnes Nordnes is a peninsula and neighbourhood in the city centre of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The ...

. In 1852, after four years of apprenticeship, he traveled to the United States to continue his education, mainly at the East Boston shipyard of

Donald McKay Donald McKay (September 4, 1810 – September 20, 1880) was a Nova Scotian-born American designer and shipbuilder, builder of sailing ships, famed for his record-setting extreme clippers. Early life McKay was born in Jordan Falls, Shelburne ...

. Upon his return to Bergen, he bought one half in Georgernes Verft (the other half was owned by Herman Brunchorst) and from 1854 the shipyard operated under the name Brunchorst & Dekke. That same year, Jens Gran, who had also worked with McKay, joined the shipyard at Bergen. Dekke and Gran revolutionized shipbuilding in the Bergen area. Under his leadership, the shipyard built 41 schooners and 14 steamships. From 1857 he was the sole owner of the yard, except during the periods 1871-1874 and 1874–1882, when respectively Adolf Tidemand and Georg Smitt were co-owners. He was a member of the City Council in Bergen from 1859 to 1872 and from 1877 to 1892 and set in the presidency from 1865 to 1869. He was also an alternate to the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

from 1880 to 1882. He was a co-founder of the West Norway Museum of Decorative Art (''Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum'') which opened in Bergen during 1889.

Personal life

Dekke was married twice. In 1859, he first married Engel Marie Rubach (1837–1863). In 1864, he married Rebekah Arloug Stoltz (1843–1930) with whom he had eight children. He was the grandfather of Arne Dekke Eide Næss and

Erling Dekke Næss Erling Dekke Næss (5 September 1901 – 7 February 1993) was a Norwegian shipowner and businessman. Næss was Deputy Head of Nortraship's New York office from 1942 to 1946. Næss was the initiator behind the OBO carrier. He is also credited as ...

. He was decorated Knight of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1868, and Commander, Second Class in 1891. He was a Knight 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 ...

, and of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dekke, Ananias 1832 births 1892 deaths Engineers from Bergen People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School Norwegian shipbuilders Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal