Peter "Don Pedro" Christophersen (May 28, 1845 – August 19, 1930) was a Norwegian businessman, landowner, and diplomat in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

.''Norsk Biografisk Leksikon'': Peder Christophersen.
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Early life and family

Christophersen 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 ...

, the son of the customs official Ole Christophersen (1796–1878) and his wife, Tobine Christine Petersen. Christophersen was the brother of Norwegian Foreign Minister Wilhelm Christopher Christophersen (1832–1913); the Danish general consul in Montevideo, Otto Thorvald Alexander Christophersen (1834–1896), the Oslo wholesaler and factory owner Christian Eilert Rasch Christophersen (1840–1900);and the diplomat Søren Andreas Christophersen (1849–1933), who also lived in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Education and career

Christophersen attended the civil school in Tønsberg, and then spent much of his adult life abroad. From 1865 to 1871 he was a shipbroker in

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

. Christophersen went to Argentina in 1871, where he established himself as a shipbroker and landowner. Her served as a vice consul and ''

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

'' for Russia from 1881 to 1902, and as a vice consul for Denmark from 1884 to 1902. Christophersen was active in the business world and public life in Argentina. From 1891 to 1908 he served as the chairman for trade law and the stock exchange in Buenos Aires and he took part in several public committees on customs, port matters, and railway development. Christophersen also helped sponsor expeditions, including

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ...

's South Pole expedition (1910–1912). He was also a central figure in the negotiations to purchase the ''Asbjørnsen'' and ''Moe''. Christophersen died in

Awards

Christophersen was honored with a number of Norwegian and other orders for his work. In 1901, he was named a knight, first class 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 ...

, and he was promoted to commander first class in 1909 and awarded the order's

grand cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gran ...

in 1911 "for political service and public activity." Christophersen received the grand cross of the Swedish

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

. He was named a 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 ...

, an officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

, a commander of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

, a commander of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

, and a knight of the Austrian

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown () was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombard ...

. Christophersen was honored by Russia with the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

(second class with stars) and the Order of St. Anna (second class with diamonds). Christophersen also received the Brazilian

Order of the Rose The Imperial Order of the Rose () was a Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Pedro I of Brazil, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. On 22 March 1890, the order was cancelled as ...

. His orders are displayed at the

Fram Museum The Fram Museum () is a museum telling the story of Norwegian polar exploration. It is located on the peninsula of Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. Fram Museum is in an area with several other museums including the Kon-Tiki Museum, the Norwegian Mu ...

in Oslo.

Legacy

Mount Don Pedro Christophersen, in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, is named after Christophersen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christophersen, Peter People from Tønsberg 1845 births 1930 deaths Norwegian diplomats Norwegian businesspeople Norwegian expatriates in Spain Norwegian emigrants to Argentina Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Commanders of the Order of Isabella the Catholic