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Baron Bror Fredrik von Blixen-Finecke (25 July 1886 – 4 March 1946) was a Swedish nobleman, writer, and African professional hunter and guide on big-game hunts. He was married to Karen Blixen (née Dinesen) from 1914 to 1925.


Personal life

Bror Fredrik "Blix" von Blixen-Finecke and his twin brother, Hans Gustaf, were the youngest of seven children born to Baron Fredrik von Blixen-Finecke (1847–1919) and his wife, Countess Clara Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs (1855–1925). His paternal grandfather was Baron Carl Frederik Axel Bror von Blixen-Finecke (1822–1873), who held the
family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families ...
at Näsbyholm Castle and served Denmark as its
Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
1859–1860, while his grandmother was the Baron's first wife, Gustava Charlotta
Ankarcrona Ankarcrona is a Swedish noble family originating from Christoffer Jakobsson, a German Protestant convert who immigrated to Sweden from Bohemia in the 17th century, and resided in Ronneby in Sweden. Two of his grandsons were ennobled, but the ...
(1821–1890), a descendant of John III of Sweden. Bror's maternal grandfather was Count
Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs (8 December 1817 – 12 October 1896) was a Danish nobleman and politician. He was Council President of Denmark from 1865 to 1870 as the leader of the Frijs Cabinet. Biography Frijs graduated from Sorø Aca ...
, Denmark's prime minister 1865–1870 and a descendant of Frederick III of Denmark. Blixen-Finecke attended agricultural college at
Alnarp Alnarp () is a village and university campus in Lomma Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, lying between Lund and Malmö. The first written mention of Alnarp is from 1325. In 1674 it became the official residence of the governor-general of Scani ...
, and then managed the Stjetneholm farm, within the Nasbyholm estate. Blix and Hans had known "Tanne", Karen Dinesen, since childhood, since Blix's mother and Tanne's father were cousins. Hans had actually turned down Tanne, before she became attached to Blix. A visit from Blix's maternal uncle, Count Mogens Frijs, and his tales of life in Naivasha, inspired Blix to seek his future in Africa. Bror Fredrik von Blixen-Finecke became engaged to Karen Dinesen, who followed him to
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in 1913, where they were married on 14 January 1914 in
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
. They then ran a coffee plantation at the foot of Ngong Hills, bought by Blixen from Ake Sjogren, using funds provided on behalf of her family. They lived in the manager's house, located on the Mbagathi River, until 1917, when they moved into the main two-story stone farm house. During
WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Blix served in Lord Delamere's patrols along the border with German-Tanganyika, and Tanne helped transport supplies. According to Peter Capstick, "It was not long after Blixen and his wife settled on their farm that he started womanizing." Karen became infected with syphilis as a consequence. Capstick goes on to say, "His forays into town and his often wild socializing at the Muthaiga Club, coupled with a legendary indiscipline when it came to money and honoring his debts, soon gave the charming Swede a notorious reputation." The farm did not prosper, the couple separated, and eventually divorced. Yet, thirty years after their first safari, Karen was quoted as saying, "If I should wish anything back of my life, it would be to go on safari once again with Bror Blixen." Aage Westenholz, Tanne's maternal uncle and family trustee after her father died, turned the farm into a company in 1918 with Aage as the chairman. Blaming the farm's losses on Blix, Aage banned Blix from the farm in the spring of 1920, and by 1921 Tanne and Blixen were separated.In Blixen's words, "Difficulty upon difficulty arose. The plantation had to be sold-my home was broken up. I stood there in the forest empty-handed. But I still had my sporting rifle." Blixen then took up professional hunting from 1922 to 1928, with time out in 1927 to accompany Charles Markham in crossing Africa east to west, first in ''The Vagrant'' from Stanleyville to
Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
, then via
International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...
truck to Paris across
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. On 1 August 1928, he married the British aristocrat Jacqueline Harriet "Cockie" Alexander.The Peerage: ''Jacqueline Harriet Alexander''
Linked 2014-04-06
They managed Singu, a property at Babati, owned by Blixen's first hunting client Dick Cooper. In 1929, Blixen concentrated on his safari business and became Cooper's East Africa agent. The safari work enabled the Blixens to purchase their own farm at Ndasagu. When he was visited in Kenya by the Swedish adventurer and aviator Eva Dickson in 1932, while "Cockie" was visiting her mother in England, the marriage quickly ended, as he and Eva became lovers.Populär Historia, 23 januari, 2009: ''Äventyraren Eva Dickson''
(in Swedish) Linked 2014-04-06
In 1935, he and "Cockie" divorced, and the following year he married Eva in New York, and they spent their honeymoon together with
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
and his wife Pauline Pfeiffer sailing around Cuba and the Bahamas. Cockie was quoted by Ulf Aschan as saying, "I have never regretted anything — except leaving Blix. He was the love of my life." In March 1938, Eva Dickson von Blixen-Finecke died in a car crash outside
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
, on her way back from
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
after having been forced to give up her big dream of driving the Silk Road to
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. Bror von Blixen-Finecke didn't learn about her death until 28 July 1938, and he was devastated by the news. Blix left Africa for good in 1938, eventually returning to his native Sweden. He died in a 1946 car accident, in which he was a passenger. Von Blixen-Finecke's identical twin, Hans, had died in a plane crash in 1917.


Big-game hunter in Africa

Blixen formed Tanganyika Guides Ltd, for professional hunting, in partnership with Philip Percival and Jeff Manley. Blixen and Percival became East Africa's leading hunters. According to Ulf Aschan, "Safaris lasted from one month to three. A meticulous organizer, Blix never left anything to chance. Fly camps, fuel depots, airstrips, provisions, and staff were always laid out well in advance. He would also take time to reconnoiter an area thoroughly beforehand to check on waterholes and general game movements." On 16 Nov. 1928, according to Bror, he was approached by the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
in his quest to "bag a lion". Bror and his "old friend" Denys Finch Hatton proceeded to help the prince do so followed by a hunt for buffalo. They had a repetition expedition with the prince, but for elephant, in Feb. 1930. Other famous personages Blixen guided on a hunt were Ernst Udet, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr., George Washington Vanderbilt III,
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
, Freddie Guest, Winston Frederick Churchill Guest, and Lord Marmaduke Furness. According to Beryl Markham in her memoir ''West with the Night'', "He is six feet of amiable Swede and, to my knowledge, the toughest, most durable White Hunter ever to snicker at the fanfare of safari or to shoot a charging buffalo between the eyes while debating whether his sundown drink would be gin or whiskey." "Hunting with Blix was a magnificent experience," said Ebba Hamilton, "With his quiet, almost lyrical narrative of what happened around us, he got nature to live like I have never experienced since. Rose Cartwright stated that Blix was, "An excellent shot, a meticulous organizer, and very good teacher. He was on a par with the best African trackers, and they admired him greatly for his skills and stamina."


Writing

Bror von Blixen-Finecke was a talented writer; his best-known book was his autobiography, ''African Hunter'' (1938), long regarded as fine Africana since its translation from Swedish in 1938 by F. H. Lyon. In 1988 St. Martin's Press published a collection of von Blixen-Finecke's letters to family and friends in a book titled ''Bror Blixen: The Africa Letters''.


In popular culture

In the film ''
Out of Africa ''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the seventeen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called British East Africa. The book is a lyrical meditation on ...
'' (1985), which is based on Karen Blixen's memoirs of the same name, the role of Bror von Blixen-Finecke is played by Austrian actor
Klaus Maria Brandauer Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar. Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in ''The Russia House'' (1990), ''Mephisto'' ...
, who also plays his brother Hans.


See also

List of famous big game hunters This list of famous big-game hunters includes sportsmen who gained fame largely or solely because of their big-game hunting exploits. The members of this list either hunted big game for sport, to advance the science of their day, or as professio ...
* Fairmont The Norfolk Hotel


References

* Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Adelslexikon I, vol. 53, Limburg (Lahn) 1972, pp. 432–433. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blixen-Finecke, Bror 1886 births 1946 deaths People from Trelleborg Municipality Swedish nobility Swedish people of German descent Road incident deaths in Sweden Karen Blixen Swedish twins Swedish emigrants to Kenya