Anton Christian Bang (18 September 1840 in

Dønna Dønna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative centre of the island municipality is the village of Solfjellsjøen. Other villages include Bjørn, Dønnes, Hestad, Sandåker, and V ...

, Helgeland – 29 December 1913) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

theologian, historian and politician for the

Conservative Party of Norway The Conservative Party or The Right ( nb, Høyre, nn, Høgre, , H; se, Olgešbellodat) is a liberal-conservative political party in Norway. It is the major party of the Norwegian centre-right, and was the leading party in government as part o ...

. Bang was one of the more prominent figures within the Church of Norway in the decades around 1900. He served as a professor of

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...

at the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

from 1885 onward, as Minister of Education and Church Affairs from 1893 to 1895, and as

Bishop of Oslo Oslo bishopric is the Church of Norway's bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese in 1068. It w ...

from 1896 to 1912.

Biography

Bang was born on the island of

in Nordland to Ivar Christian Bang Andersen and Mariane Hansdatter Klæboe. As a youth he was involved in the

Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolv� ...

fishing season. He attended a teachers' school in

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...

(1858–1960) and theology studies (1862–1867), and then served in ministries in Gran, in

, and at

Gaustad Gaustad is a neighborhood in Nordre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located between Vinderen and Kringsjå. At Gaustad are The National Hospital and Gaustad Hospital, as well as residential areas that border to Nordmarka. The area is serve ...

asylum in Christiania. In 1876 he received the first doctorate in theology at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

on the subject (The Historical Reality of Christ's Resurrection). Bang was a professor of church history (1885) and

(1896–1912). As the Bishop of Oslo and with his close ties to the royal house, he represented several national missions, including at the inauguration of the German Redemption Church in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 1898. Bang was Minister of Education and Church Affairs from 1893 to 1895, and a member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm in 1895. Bang was appointed to the Second cabinet of

Emil Stang Emil Stang (14 June 1834 – 4 July 1912) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. He served as the 5th prime minister of Norway from 1889–1891 and again from 1893–1895. He also served as the first leader of the Conservative Party from 1884–18 ...

in 1893. As a researcher Bang was very productive and his writings cover a wide field. Bang wrote several major works in his career, including a notable biography on

Hans Nielsen Hauge Hans Nielsen Hauge (3 April 1771 – 29 March 1824) was a 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran lay minister, spiritual leader, business entrepreneur, social reformer and author. He led a noted Pietism revival known as the Haugean movement. Hauge is als ...

. The main contribution he made was as a collector of historical information, and he thus made an important contribution to religious folklore research. He was considered a conservative, both as a politician and as a theologian.

Honors

* Commander of the 1st Class of the Order of St. Olav (1895) * King

Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norwe ...

award (1895) *

Petter Dass Petter Pettersen Dass (c. 1647 – 17 August 1707) was a Lutheran priest and the foremost Norwegian poet of his generation, writing both baroque hymns and topographical poetry. Biography He was born at Northern Herøy (Dønna), Nordland, No ...

-medaljen from in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

(1912)

Selected works

* (1868) * (1874) * (1879) * (1879
Overview of the Historic Argument
* (1881) * (1883) * (1887) * (1890) * (1895) * (1897) * (1901–02) * (1909) * (1912)

References

Other sources

*J. Brochmann: (1898) *G. Grundt: (1958) *A. M. Smørvik: (1987)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bang, Anton Christian 1840 births 1913 deaths People from Dønna Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Government ministers of Norway 19th-century Norwegian historians Norwegian theologians 19th-century Protestant theologians Bishops of Oslo Ministers of Education of Norway