Henrik August Angell (22 August 1861 – 26 January 1922) was a Norwegian military officer, sportsman, and writer. He was a ski pioneer and the first Norwegian delegate to the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

Early life

Henrik Angell was born at Luster in

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...

and grew up in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Norway. He was the son of Johan Mølmann Anderson Lysholm Angell (1820–88) and his wife Marie With Bonnevie (1830–1904). He received an education at the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

and entered the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

Military career

He was a colonel and regiment chief from 1911. He was commander leader of the Søndermør Infantry Regiment until 1914 and of the Smaalenene Infantry Regiment until 1918. He joined the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

in 1918, and participated on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

World War I 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 ...

. It was whilst he was deployed in Northern Russia that he had a severe case of frostbite, resulting in both of his feet and several fingers being amputated. He was appointed as an officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

for his service during the

North Russia intervention The North Russia intervention, also known as the Northern Russian expedition, the Archangel campaign, and the Murman deployment, was part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution. The intervention brought ...

Skiing and literary work

Angell was admitted to the skiing club

SK Ull SK may refer to: Businesses and organizations * SK Foods, an American agribusiness company * SK Hand Tools, an American tool manufacturer * Sangguniang Kabataan, Philippines youth councils * SK Group, South Korean conglomerate * Scandinavian Airli ...

in 1898 and was a sports advocate. He wrote several books promoting skiing and Norwegian nationalism. He also wrote a series of military history books.

Death and legacy

He died during 1922 in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. His statue by

Gustav Lærum Gustav Lærum (2 June 1870, in Fet – 21 May 1938) was a Norwegian satirical illustrator, caricaturist and sculptor. He provided illustrations for the satirical magazines '' Korsaren'', ''Tyrihans'', and '' Vikingen'', and also the newspape ...

is located at

Holmenkollen Holmenkollen () is a mountain and a neighbourhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. It goes up to above sea level and is well-known for its international skiing competitions. Overview In addition to being a residential area, the are ...

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 of ...

Selected works

*''Naar et lidet Folk kjæmper for Livet : serbiske Soldaterfortællinger'' (1914) *''Gjennem

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

paa ski'' (1895) *''De sorte fjeldes sønner'' (1896) *''Kaptein Jürgensen og Leirdølerne hans'' (1901) *''Et sterkt folk'' (1902) *''Norges krigshistorie'' (1906) *''Norsk Skilauparsoge'' (1908) *''Syv-aars-krigen for 17. mai 1807–1814'' (1914) *''For Frankrigs ret og ære: fra den franske front'' (1918)

References

External links

* 1861 births 1922 deaths People from Luster, Norway Norwegian Army personnel Norwegian sports executives and administrators Norwegian explorers Norwegian male skiers Norwegian non-fiction writers SK Ull members Officers of the French Foreign Legion Norwegian people of World War I Recipients of the Norwegian Medal for Heroic Deeds in Gold International Olympic Committee members {{Norway-sport-bio-stub