Johan Georg Ræder (21 March 1814 – 3 January 1898) was a Norwegian military officer, railway pioneer and politician. He was a driving force in the construction of Norway's first railway line, the

Hoved Line In telecommunications, trunking is a technology for providing network access to multiple clients simultaneously by sharing a set of circuits, carriers, channels, or frequencies, instead of providing individual circuits or channels for each clie ...

from Christiania to

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information ...

, which opened in 1854.

Personal life

Ræder was born in

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aus ...

as the son of Johan Christopher Ræder and Karen Sophie Hedevig Munch. He was the brother of Ole Munch Ræder, Jacques Ræder and Nicolai Ditlev Ammon Ræder. and uncle of Anton Ræder. He married Thora Caroline Munch in 1844.

Career

Ræder started his military career as second lieutenant in 1833. He graduated from the Military College in 1837, and was then assigned with the Engineering Brigade ( no, Ingeniørbrigaden). He was in charge of the construction of the road over

Filefjell Filefjell is a mountainous area in Norway. It is located between Lærdal in the Vestland county and Valdres in Innlandet county. It is the historical, as well as modern, main route, linking Western Norway and Eastern Norway. The European route E16 ...

around 1840. From 1842 to 1843 he studied in France and England, where he learned about railway construction. In 1843 he was engaged by timber merchants Westye Egeberg and Carsten Tank Egeberg, to carry out investigation and siting of a railroad line from Christiania to

, and delivered his report in 1844. He was selected to be a member of the first Norwegian railway commission in 1845. Ræder was a driving force in the commission, and also a member of the supervising committee for the construction of Norway's first railway line, the

from Christiania to Eidsvoll. The line opened in 1854. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Hoved Line, from 1853 to 1855. Ræder was a member of the City Parliament of Christiania from 1849 to 1876. He was suppleant to the Parliament of Norway from 1862 to 1863, from 1865 to 1866, and from 1874 to 1879. He was director of the Norwegian Military College from 1864 to 1894. He had the rank of major general from 1872, and lieutenant general from 1888. At the crowning ceremony of King Oscar II in the Nidaros Cathedral in 1873 he carried the Royal Sword. A painting by

Knud Bergslien Knud Larsen Bergslien (15 May 1827 – 27 November 1908) was a Norwegian painter, art teacher and master artist. In his art, he frequently portrayed the lives of the Norwegian people, their history and heroes of the past. Bergslien is most associ ...

from 1874 depicting this ceremony is located at the Royal Palace in Oslo. He was a member of several public commissions, and wrote many articles for the magazine '' Norsk Militært Tidsskrift''. He was decorated Commander, First Class of the Order of St. Olav, received the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...

and the Grand Cross of the Prussian

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raeder, Georg 1814 births 1898 deaths Politicians from Kongsvinger Norwegian Military College alumni Academic staff of the Norwegian Military College Norwegian Army generals 19th-century Norwegian politicians Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword