Fred Kenelm Nielsen (April 22, 1879 – January 12, 1963) was a

Danish-American Danish Americans ( da, Dansk-amerikanere) are Americans who have ancestral roots originated fully or partially from Denmark. There are approximately 1,300,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent. History The first Dane known to have arriv ...

lawyer, diplomatic official, and

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach. Nielsen served as the head football coach at the Maryland Agricultural College—now known as the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

—from 1905 to 1906, the

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

from 1907 to 1908,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

from 1910 to 1911, and the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

from 1915 to 1916.

Early life

Nielsen was born in

Slagelse Slagelse () is a town on Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Kalundborg and 14 km ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

on April 22, 1879. He emigrated to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

ASSISTANT SOLICITOR NAMED
, ''The Christian Science Monitor'', p. 15, December 2, 1913. with his parents the following year."The Solicitor for the State Department: Fred K Nielsen"
''The American Journal of International Law'', Vol. 17, No. 2 (Apr., 1923), pp. 307-309, American Society of International Law. Nielsen attended the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, from which he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1902 and a LL. B. in 1904. During college, he played on the Cornhuskers football team as a halfback, and earned a

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

Professional career

Nielsen started his career with the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

in 1904. In 1905, the

Maryland Agricultural College Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

(now the University of Maryland) hired Nielsen as its head football coach. He replaced its previous coach,

D. John Markey David John Markey (October 7, 1882 – July 20, 1963) was an American politician, Army officer, businessman, and college football coach. He ran a controversial unsuccessful campaign for a United States Senate seat against former Maryland governor ...

, who had quit after the school denied an increase to the job's $300 salary. Nielsen tolerated the low pay, however, because of his full-time job with the State Department.David Ungrady,
Tales from the Maryland Terrapins
', 2003, p. 14, Sports Publishing LLC, . During his two years at Maryland, the Aggies posted an 11–7 record.All-Time Coaching Records by Year
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved 15 January 2009. He continued coaching college football part-time in the

Washington area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

. From 1907 to 1908, Nielsen was the head coach at the

. In his first year there, the Hatchetites posted a poor 2–5–1 record, but improved to 9–1–1 the following season, which was enough to clinch the

South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association The South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SAIAA) was an intercollegiate athletic conference with its main focus of promoting track and arranging track meets. Its member schools were located in the states of Maryland, Virginia, Nort ...

(SAIAA) championship.

Curley Byrd Harry Clifton "Curley" Byrd (February 12, 1889 – October 2, 1970) was an American university administrator, educator, athlete, coach, and politician. Byrd began a long association with the University of Maryland as an undergraduate in 1905, and ...

, "Foot Ball in Washington, D.C."
''Spalding's Official Foot Ball Guide''
p. 195,

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, 1915. Nielsen then coached at

from 1910 to 1911. In that period, his teams posted a 14–2–2 record and outscored their opponents 438–57. Georgetown's losses came at the hands of undefeated, untied, and unscored upon

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and the

Carlisle Indians The Carlisle Indians football team represented the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in college football, intercollegiate football competition. The program was active from 1893 until 1917, when it was discontinued. During the program's 25 years, th ...

led by

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

. Georgetown secured the SAIAA championship both years of Nielsen's tenure. At the same time, Nielsen studied at the

Georgetown University Law School The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and t ...

, and received a

Master of Law A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree in 1906. In 1913, Nielsen was named the Assistant Solicitor of the Department of State. In 1914, he was assigned as a

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...

during discussions in

Christiania, Norway 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 of ...

of a

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...

government. As the assistant solicitor, Nielsen did not intend to continue coaching, but in 1915, the

implored him to take over its ailing football program. He helmed the Cardinals from 1915 to 1916, and compiled a 9–6 record.Varsity success (1910-50)
, All-time Football Results, The Catholic University of America, retrieved February 13, 2009. In 1918, Nielsen served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

until

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

and attained the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He represented the United States at the

1919 Paris Peace Conference Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

, and was the primary American representative in a commission re-examining Belgian treaty obligations of 1839. Nielsen served on the committee that decided the sovereignty of the Spitsbergen archipelago. On June 23, 1920,

President Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Demo ...

appointed Nielsen as the Solicitor of the State Department, the department's chief legal officer. Nielsen resigned from that position in 1922, and later that year,

President Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. ...

nominated him as the American representative for the British-American Claims Commission. Nielsen later served as the American commissioner of the Mexican Claims Commission, which existed from 1924 to 1937 to settle disputes between the two nations. In 1931, he resigned from that post "in disgust" at the actions of some of the Mexican and Panamanian delegates.U. S. ASKS MEXICO TO KEEP CLAIMS TREATIES ALIVE
''The Chicago Tribune'', p. 18, August 5, 1931. Nielsen died on January 12, 1963.''Proceedings of the American Society of International Law at its annual meeting''
p. 260,

American Society of International Law The American Society of International Law (ASIL), founded in 1906, was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 to foster the study of international law, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the ba ...

, 1963.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Arlington National Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Fred 1879 births 1963 deaths American diplomats American football halfbacks American lawyers Catholic University Cardinals football coaches Georgetown Hoyas football coaches George Washington Colonials football coaches Georgetown University Law Center alumni Maryland Terrapins football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers United States Department of State officials Players of American football from Omaha, Nebraska People from Slagelse Coaches of American football from Nebraska Danish emigrants to the United States