Johan Gerhard de Besche (31 May 1821 – 19 February 1875) was a Norwegian physician and owner the ''

Morgenbladet ''Morgenbladet'' is a Norwegian weekly, newspaper, covering politics, culture and science. History ''Morgenbladet'' was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg. The paper is the country's first daily newspaper; however, Adresseavi ...

'' newspaper. He was born at

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardan ...

, Norway. He was a son of Joachim Christopher de Besche and Elizabeth Birgitte Bergh. The family had migrated to Sweden from the Netherlands in the 16th century, and one branch from there to Norway in the 17th century. He enrolled as a student in 1839, and graduated with the

cand.med. Candidate of Medicine ( la, candidatus medicinae (male), ''candidata medicinae'' (female), abbreviated cand. med.) is an academic degree awarded in Denmark, Iceland, and Norway following a six-year medical school education. Medical students in ...

degree in 1843. In March 1845 in

Kristiania 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 ...

(now Oslo), he married Catharina Marie Hviid (1824–1879). When his mother-in-law died in 1863, de Besche inherited half of the newspaper ''

'', an influential conservative publication. He bought the other half from the family of

Adolf Bredo Stabell Adolf Bredo Stabell (19 November 1807 – 21 November 1865) was a Norwegian newspaper editor, banker and politician. He was born in Trondhjem (now Trondheim) as a son of Nicolai Bredo Stabell (1736–1817) and Karen Bolette Grøgaard (1769–1 ...

(1807-1865) in 1865. From 1846 he worked as a physician in the military, contributing to journals including ''Militært Tidsskrift'' and ''Den Militære Tilskuer'' in addition to medical journals. In 1849 he volunteered in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...

. He was then a royal physician to

Charles XV of Sweden Charles XV also Carl (''Carl Ludvig Eugen''); Swedish: ''Karl XV'' and Norwegian: ''Karl IV'' (3 May 1826 – 18 September 1872) was King of Sweden (''Charles XV'') and Norway, there often referred to accurately as Charles IV, from 1859 until his ...

from 1857 to 1869. He died in 1875 at Frognerhoug in

Aker Aker may refer to: Places * Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway * Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Aker Br ...

. The ''Morgenbladet'' newspaper was passed down to his son Oscar de Besche (1846–1909), whereas his grandson Arent Greve de Besche became notable in the medicinal field.

References

1821 births 1875 deaths People from Kongsberg 19th-century Norwegian physicians Norwegian newspaper publishers (people) {{Norway-med-bio-stub