Sophus Christensen (22 January 1848 – 24 January 1920) was a
Norwegian military officer.
Personal life
He was born in
Sandefjord
Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...
as a son of ship-owner and merchant Søren Lorents Christensen (1810–1862) and Othilie Juliane Kruge (1820–1903). He was a younger brother of physician and politician
Julius Christensen and whaler
Christen Christensen. Through the former he was a brother-in-law of
Dorothea Christensen, and through the latter an uncle of
Lars Christensen
Lars Christensen (6 April 1884 – 10 December 1965) was a Norway, Norwegian shipowner and whaling magnate. He was also a philanthropist with a keen interest in the exploration of Antarctica.
Career
Lars Christensen was born at Sandar, Norway, S ...
.
[''Hvem er hvem?'' 1912]
pp. 47–48
In 1894 he married physician's daughter Margrethe Castberg Ebbesen from Sandefjord. She was a daughter of mayor
Jørgen Tandberg Ebbesen
Jørgen Tandberg Ebbesen (11 December 1812 – 16 July 1887) was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.
Jørgen Tandberg Ebbesen was born in Fredrikstad as the son of Hans Christian Ebbesen (1774–1858) and Abigael Marie Bing (1785â ...
. The couple settled in
Langesund
is the administrative centre of Bamble Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The town is located on a peninsula along the Langesundsfjorden near the Skaggerak coast. The town of Stathelle lies about to the northwest. The town was establi ...
.
[
]
Career
Christensen became an officer in 1870, and after attending the Central School in Kristiania and Stockholm in 1874–1875 he reached the rank of Premier Lieutenant. He notably participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. His main career was in Norway, though, and via Captain in 1889 he reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1902. He belonged to the Sixth Brigade, then the First Brigade from 1906. He retired from active service in 1908.[ In ''Nationen og Armeen'', he argued that war in itself was a necessary ]baptism by fire
The phrase baptism by fire, baptism of fire or baptism with fire is a Christian theological concept originating from the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11.
It also has related meanings in military history and popular culture.
Christiani ...
, and that war contributed to the evolution of mankind. He became often referred to by the Norwegian labour movement, since he proposed budget increases that the labour movement thought too high.
He was decorated as a Commander 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 a Knight, Second Class of the Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
Order of St. Anna and 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 ...
.[
Christensen died in January 1920 and was buried in Sandar. A memorial stone was raised at his grave by "Friends of the Norwegian Defence".]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Sophus
1848 births
1920 deaths
People from Sandefjord
Norwegian Army personnel
Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
Norwegian non-fiction writers
Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class