Count Baltzar Bogislaus von Platen (29 May 1766 – 6 December 1829) was a Swedish naval officer and statesman. He was Governor-general of Norway from 1827 to 1829.

Biography

A member of the noble

Platen family A platen (or platten) is a platform with a variety of roles in printing or manufacturing. It can be a flat metal (or earlier, wooden) plate pressed against a medium (such as paper) to cause an impression in letterpress printing. Platen may al ...

, von Platen was born on the island of

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania (; ) was a dominions of Sweden, dominion under the Sweden, Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish-Swedish War, Polish War and the Thirty Years' War ...

(now in Germany), to Philip Julius Bernhard von Platen,

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

and

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

, and Regina Juliana von Usedom. At the age of 13, Baltzar entered the

Royal Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

where he served with distinction until resigning in 1800, having attained the rank of captain. Following the revolution in 1809 he became a member of the Privy Council and, in the following year, received a promotion to rear admiral. He was also made chairman of the

Göta Canal The Göta Canal () is a Swedish canal constructed in the early 19th century. The canal is long, of which were dug or blasted, with a width varying between and a maximum depth of about .Uno Svedin, Britt Hägerhäll Aniansson, ''Sustainab ...

directorate charged with constructing a canal across Sweden. The canal, following a design by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

, would only be completed in 1832, after von Platen's death, but during its construction, he did discover two skilled mechanical engineering brothers

John Ericsson John Ericsson (born Johan Ericsson; July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish-American engineer and inventor. He was active in England and the United States. Ericsson collaborated on the design of the railroad steam locomotive Novelty (lo ...

and

Nils Ericson ''Friherre'' Nils Ericson (born Nils Ericsson; 31 January 1802 – 8 September 1870) was a Swedish mechanical engineer who built canals and railways in Sweden. His younger brother John Ericsson, who emigrated first to England and then the U ...

. He was appointed Governor-general of Norway on 26 November 1827, a position which he held until his death in Christiania (modern name Oslo), the Norwegian capital, on 6 December 1829. He was married to Hedvig Elisabeth Ekman. Baltzar von Platen's grave is at the side of the Göta Canal in

Motala Motala () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Motala Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with a municipal population of 43,717 inhabitants in 2024. It is the third largest city of Östergötland, following Linköping and N ...

, where it is something of a tourist attraction, especially for canal visitors.

Honors

He was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in 1815. One of the early

vessels Vessel(s) or the Vessel may refer to: Biology *Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body *Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph *Vessel element, a narrow wat ...

built at Hammarsten shipyard in

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

was named after Baltzar von Platen in 1834.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platen, Baltzar 1766 births 1829 deaths People from Swedish Pomerania Baltzar 18th-century Swedish nobility Swedish people of German descent Members of the Privy Council of Sweden Governors-general of Norway Swedish Navy vice admirals Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 19th-century Swedish businesspeople 19th-century Swedish military personnel 19th-century Swedish politicians 19th-century Swedish nobility