Peter Laurentius Larsen (August 10, 1833 – March 1, 1915) was a

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans () are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...

educator and

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

theological leader. He was the founding president of Luther College.

Background

Peter Laurentius Larsen was born in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

in the county of Lister og Mandals Amt,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He was an 1855 doctoral graduate at the Royal Frederick University. Laur. Larsen was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in Christiania during 1857 and subsequently immigrated to the United States in response to a call issued by the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church. He served as a pastor near Rush River, Pierce County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

from 1857 until 1859. The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church decided on October 10, 1857, to create a college to supply ministers for Norwegian congregations in the Upper Midwest. It decided that students should be sent to Concordia College and Seminary in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and that a Norwegian professorship should be established there. Laur. Larsen was appointed to the Norwegian theology professorship, entering officially upon his duties October 14, 1859. With the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, disorders arose in St. Louis. When Concordia College and Seminary closed in April, 1861, Professor Larsen and his students returned home.

Luther College

At its meeting in June 1861, the church decided to proceed at once to establish its own college. College authorities decided to make use of a newly erected vacant parsonage at Halfway Creek, just north of

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...

. Lutheran College opened September 1, 1861, with two teachers, Larsen and F. A. Schmidt. In the summer of 1862 the school was transferred to

Decorah, Iowa Decorah is the largest city in and county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of Iowa ...

. Larsen served as President of Luther College from 1861. He supervised the construction of the college's first Main building and its subsequent rebuilding after a devastating fire in 1889. Larsen also acted in a number of capacities as president. Not only was he the chief executive officer, but he also directed admissions, financial matters, curriculum, and fund raising, served as campus pastor and taught a diverse range of subjects. Although he resigned from the presidency in 1902, he continued to teach there until 1911. Laur. Larsen was vice-president of the Norwegian Synod, 1876 until 1893. He was the acting President of the

Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America The Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America (), often known simply as the Synodical Conference, was an association of Lutheran synods that professed a complete adherence to the Lutheran Confessions and doctrinal unity with ea ...

from 1880 until 1882. Larsen helped edit the Norwegian language publication ''Church Monthly'' (Norwegian: ''Kirkelig Maanedstidende'') and its successor, ''Evangelical Lutheran Church Times'' (Norwegian: ''Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende''). His articles appeared in the

Norwegian language Norwegian ( ) is a North Germanic language from the Indo-European language family spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelli ...

literary magazine '' Symra''. Larsen was appointed a Knight of the 1st Class in the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1908 and was awarded an honorary doctorate at Concordia Seminary.

Selected works

*''Historisk Fremstilling af den Strid, som i Aarene 1861 til 1868 indenfor den norske Synode i Amerika har været ført i Anledning af Skriftens Lære om Slaveri'' (Madison, Wisconsin: 1868) *''Inkorporationsartikler, Bilove og gjældende Bestemmelser for dens Institutioner Embedsmend og Virksomhed'' (Decorah, Iowa: 1901) *''Nogle gamle minder'' (in Symra 1913)

Personal life

Peter Laurentius Larsen was married twice. He married Karen Randine Neuberg (1833–1871) in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, Norway in 1855. He later married Ingeborg Astrup (1846–1923), in 1872. His son Jakob Larsen as well as other of his 12 children held important positions within the American Lutheran church, colleges and universities

Laur. Larsen Hall

Laurentius Larsen Hall, first opened in 1907, is a residence hall at Luther College. It also houses the international student office, study abroad resource center, and health service. The hall is named for Peter Laurentius Larsen, who was the first president of Luther College.

References

Other sources

*Larsen, Karen ''Laur. Larsen: Pioneer College President'' (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Northfield, MN: 1936) *Larsen, Karen ''The Adjustment of a Pioneer Pastor to American Conditions, Laur. Larsen, 1857–1880'' (in Norwegian-American Studies and Records, 1929)

External links

''Peter Laurentius Larsen''
by Herbjørn Gausta, (1885)
Luther College biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Peter Lauretius 1833 births 1915 deaths University of Oslo alumni Norwegian emigrants to the United States 19th-century American Lutheran clergy Clergy from Kristiansand Writers from Iowa Religious leaders from Wisconsin 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy