Christian Molbech (8 October 1783 – 23 June 1857) was a Danish

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

, literary critic, writer, and theater director. He was a professor of literature 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. ...

and was the founding editor of ''Historisk Tidsskrift''

Early life and education

Christian Molbech was born and raised at

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in east Denmark with a population of 8,433 (2025).

on the island of

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. He was the son of professor at Sorø Academy Johan Christian Molbech (1744–1824) and his wife Louise Philippine Friederike Tübell (1760–1829). He graduated from Sorø Academy in 1802.

Career

Molbech was employed at the

Royal Danish Library Royal Danish Library () is a merger of the two previous national libraries in Denmark: the State and University Library in Aarhus and the Royal Library in Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, wit ...

in 1804. He was thus never formally trained as a historian. In 1829 he succeeded Knud Lyne Rahbek as professor of literature at the

. He also functioned as the director of the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

from 1830 to 1842. In 1839 he participated in the founding of the Danish Historical Society (''Den danske historiske Forening''). In 1840, he was founder and first editor of '' Historisk Tidsskrift'', which is the oldest still published scientific historical journal in the world. Molbech also wrote various philological works, including "The Danish Dictionary" (''Dansk Ordbog'') 1828–1833 and the "Danish Dialect Dictionary" (''Dansk Dialektleksikon'') 1833–1841. ''Om public Bibliotheker'' (1829) was a pioneering work in library science. Furthermore he wrote the "Historical Annals for Enlightenment and Education in the History of the North, specifically the History of Denmark" (''Historiske Aarbøger til Oplysning og Veiledning i Nordens, særdeles Danmarks Historie I-III'') in 3 volumes between 1845 and 1851, which was meant as a reference work for historians and which was groundbreaking in the establishment of the chronology of Danish history.

Personal life

Molbech met Johanne Christine Langberg (April 1793 - 24 July 1879) at Bakkehuset in Copenhagen which was owned by Knud Lyne Rahbek and his wife Kamma Rahbek. They married on 23 October 1820. She was the daughter of ''dispachør'' and later ''justitsråd'' Knud Engelbreth Langberg (1760-1833) and Birgitte Marie Jacobsen (c. 1769-1829). They were the parents of poet Christian Knud Frederik Molbech (1821-1888). Christian Molbech was a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters and was made a Commander First Class 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 1853. He died in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and was buried at Sorø Gamle Kirkegård.

References

Other Sources

* Morten Borup (1954) ''Christian Molbech'' (Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger)

External links

Danish Biographical Encyclopedia, volume XI
1. edition 1887-1905. {{DEFAULTSORT:Molbech, Christian 1783 births 1857 deaths People from Sorø Municipality Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen Danish magazine editors 19th-century Danish historians Danish literary critics Danish male writers Danish theatre managers and producers Commanders First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters