Axel Christian Smith (8 May 1744 – 20 June 1823) was a Norwegian priest and topographer. He was born in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

as a son of merchant Anders (Andreas) Smith (1716–1772) and his wife Sophia Amalia Prahl (1704–1765). He was married twice; his two wives were sisters. He was a great-grandson of artist Anders Lauritzen Smith and an ancestor of Chief Justice Carsten Smith. He enrolled 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. ...

in 1761, and graduated with the

cand.theol. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree in 1768. He returned to Norway and worked in

Vinger Vinger is a traditional district in Innlandet county, Norway. The district encompasses the lands that make up Kongsvinger and Eidskog municipalities. It is generally located to the south and east of the town of Kongsvinger and the river G ...

and

Elverum Elverum () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Elverum ( ...

before being hired as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

in Elverum and

Trysil Trysil is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Inn ...

in 1773. During his time, there was a significant growth of

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

in Trysil, and the area became a parish of its own in 1780. He is also credited with bringing the

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

to the district. In 1785 he penned the

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scienc ...

-economical work ''Beskrivelse over Trysild Præstegjeld i Aggershuus Stift i Norge''. Even in modern times this has been used as a historical source. It was printed in two parts in 1796 and 1798. By that time, however, Smith had become

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Elverum Church Elverum Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Elverum Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the town of Elverum. It is the church for the Elverum parish and the seat of the Sør-Østerdal prosti (deanery) ...

and

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

Østerdalen prosti The Diocese of Hamar () is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner Municipality in Akershus county. Administratively, the diocese is divided into 1 ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

), in 1787. From 1795 to his death he was the vicar at

Øyestad Church Øyestad Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Arendal Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Rykene, on the north side of the river Nidelva. It is one of the churches for the Øyestad parish which ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Axel 1744 births 1823 deaths Clergy from Stavanger 18th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy Norwegian topographers University of Copenhagen alumni Norwegian expatriates in Denmark 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy