Nicolaus Heinrich von Christensen

Claus (Nicolaus) Christensen. Lithograph by Wilhelm Heuer 1828

Nicolaus Heinrich von Christensen , also Claus Heinrich Christensen , (born January 2, 1768 in Kronshagen , † March 8, 1841 in Rendsburg ) was Royal Danish Major General and Oberdeichinspektor.

Live and act

Nicolaus Heinrich von Christensen was a son of Lars Christensen (1719–1793) and Katharina Dorothea, née Ernst. The father worked as chief inspector of the grand ducal domains. The couple had seven more daughters and two sons.

Von Christensen attended the Kiel School of Academics and the university there, where he enrolled in law. In 1786 he joined the Danish military and began studying mathematics in Copenhagen. In 1789 he continued his studies at the University of Göttingen with Abraham Gotthelf Kästner and Georg Christoph Lichtenberg and was awarded a Dr. phil. PhD. From 1791 to 1795 he worked for the engineering corps in Copenhagen, then in the fortress Rendsburg. In 1799 he went on an educational trip to Holland, Belgium and the Rhineland. In 1800 he left the engineering corps as Premier Lieutenant at his own request and took on a position as dike inspector in Holstein. In the same year he married Louise Sophie Rötger (1773-1852) from Glückstadt. The couple had sons Ernst Johann Friedrich , Karl Adolf Heinrich (1803–1855) and a daughter.

On June 17, 1803, he went back to the engineer corps as an engineer captain. The Danish king decided that von Christensen should continue to work in civilian employment in Glückstadt. On August 4, 1808, he moved to the General Staff in Copenhagen as an engineer major. After the Kasenort lock collapsed (now part of Landrecht (Steinburg) ), he returned to Glückstadt in 1809 and tried to prevent the Wilstermarsch from being flooded . In 1816 he took over the management of the military engineering affairs of the two duchies , which had their seat in Rendsburg. He also joined the Canal Oversight Commission and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1822. From 1823 to 1825 he regulated the groundwater level during the construction of the lock of the Eider Canal in Kiel-Holtenau . After the February flood in 1825 , he documented its course at the mouth of the Stör .

Since the storm surge of 1825 caused numerous damage, a so-called Ober-Deichinspektorat was established in 1827. Von Christensen, who had been appointed colonel in 1826, took over management when it opened in 1827. He was in charge of the technical state supervisory authorities under the pension chamber and supervised the entire dyke and drainage systems in Schleswig-Holstein. Based on the knowledge gained in 1825, he helped at crucial points to raise or strengthen dikes. He supported the creation of new berm dikes and stone ceilings and was committed to maintaining and restoring the embroidery of sea and central dikes . He paid particular attention to the Wilstermarsch dike near Schelenkuhlen, which had been damaged over a large area by the flood. In 1829 von Christensen's military activities ended with his promotion to major general. He then founded the storm surge reporting service and meticulously observed the arrival and height of the ebb and flow for three weeks on behalf of the English government on the coast of Schleswig-Holstein in 1835. His period of service, during which he allegedly saved the state 331,000 Reichsbanktaler, ended in 1837.

Nicolaus Heinrich von Christensen died in Rendsburg in 1841 after a long illness.

Scientific work

In addition to his service, von Christensen, who seldom and almost exclusively studied English-language literature, dealt with new inventions and physical investigations and experiments. Over a long period of time he worked mostly practically, extremely precisely and not very much based on literature. He clearly rejected his own publications and left them to his sons, who were also active in hydraulic engineering. In 1830 he dealt with the laws that apply to water movements in canals. He also invented a fire engine initially intended for military use. In addition, there were experiments on air humidity, in which he invented the "Plintho-Bebaiometer", a device for measuring the strength of masonry bricks. In addition, he designed a model of a fire bridge, which was later implemented in the form of the Westerbrücke in Copenhagen.

Honors

Nicolaus Heinrich von Christensen received several medals and honors for his achievements:

• On January 28, 1810, he received the Knight's Cross of the Dannebrog Order
• In 1824 he received the Dannebrog Men’s Badge of Honor
• In 1828 he received the Commandeur Cross of the Dannebrog Order
• In 1830 the University of Kiel awarded him the honorary degree of Dr. pil. hc

literature

• FH Germar: Nikolaus Heinrich Petersen. In: New Nekrolog der Deutschen. 19th year 1841, 1st part, Bernhard Friedrich Voigt, Weimar 1843, pp. 279-300 ( books.google.de ).
• Marcus Petersen: Christensen, Nicolaus Heinrich von. In: Olaf Klose (Ed.): Schleswig-Holsteinisches Biographisches Lexikon. Volume 1. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1970, ISBN 3-529-02641-7 , pp. 106-108.

Individual evidence

1. ^ VE Tychsen: Christensen, Claus (Nicolaus) Heinrich . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 3 : Brandt – Clavus . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1889, p. 468-470 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
2. ↑ Hans-Joachim Heerde: The audience of physics: Lichtenbergs Hörer. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2006, p. 154.