Lars Benzon (July 21, 1687 – October 5, 1741) was a landowner and a Deputy Director (''deputeret'') in the General Affairs Commission of the

Danish Royal Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). Oth ...

Biography

Lars Benzon was born at Sæbygård Manor on the island of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, Denmark. He was the son of General Counselor of the Admiralty Council, Niels Benzon (1646–1708) and Else Scavenius (1660–89). In 1717, while he was working as a personal secretary (''kammerjunker''), he received an appointment as deputy in the General Commissioner, a high-ranking title he held during the times of Count

Frederik Danneskiold-Samsøe Frederik Danneskjold-Samsøe (1 November 1703 – 18 July 1778) was a Danish politician, minister, admiral, chief of the Danish marine and count of the Barony Marselisborg. In his time Danneskjold-Samsøe held numerous public offices and was award ...

(1707-1770). Danneskiold was a grandson of King

Christian V of Denmark Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

and served as secretary council (''

Geheimrat ''Geheimrat'' was the title of the highest advising officials at the Imperial, royal or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic r ...

'') from 1729 and

Lieutenant admiral Lieutenant admiral () is a senior naval military rank in the Royal Netherlands Navy. The rank is a four-star rank, senior to a vice-admiral () and equivalent to admiral in most foreign navies. It is used whenever the Dutch Chief of Defence is fro ...

from 1743. In 1721, Benzon assisted in drafting new approach to accounting for the Danish navy. In 1731 he became a royal advisor (''konferensråd''). In 1738, an anonymous complaint was made against Danneskiold's administrative approach, which resulted in reports in favour of Danneskiold from the admiralty and the commissariat. Despite these, Benzon ruled against Danneskiold. However, King

Christian VI Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...

sided with Danneskiold, sharpy rebuking Benzon. Danneskiold called for Benzon's dismissal. Although the king maintained his authority, Benzon resigned his post.

Personal life

On 12 March 1721, he married Charlotte Amalie von Adeler (1703-1724). In 1738, Benzon retired to his estates (Sæbygård, Hagestedgaard and Kornerup). He died in 1742.

References

18th-century Danish naval officers 18th-century Danish landowners 1687 births 1742 deaths Benzon family {{Denmark-bio-stub