Ragnvald Bødtker (29 June 1859 – 22 March 1946) was a Norwegian engineer, known as the director of log driving in

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

for 42 years.

Personal life

He was born in Overhalla as a son of district stipendiary magistrate Job Dischington Bødtker (1818-1889) and his wife Fredrikke Sophie Sejersted (1825-1872). He was the brother of military officer

Carl Fredrik Johannes Bødtker Carl Fredrik Johannes Bødtker (20 June 1851 – 22 January 1928) was a Norwegian military officer, teacher and writer. Personal life Bødtker was born in Christiania, the son of district stipendiary magistrate Job Dischington Bødtker and his ...

and County Governor Eivind Bødtker, a second cousin of theatre critic

Sigurd Bødtker Sigurd Bødtker (2 February 1866 – 6 March 1928) was a Norwegian theatre critic. Personal life He was born in Trondheim, Trondhjem as a son of physician Fredrik Waldemar Bødtker (1824-1901) and Sophie Jenssen (1830-1898). He was the brother of ...

and chemist Eyvind Bødtker and an uncle of banker and art collector

Johannes Sejersted Bødtker Johannes Mathias Sejersted Bødtker CBE (29 May 1879 – 17 January 1963) was a Norwegian banker, art collector and patron of the arts. Early and personal life Bødtker was born in Kristiansand, as a son of Major General Carl Fredrik Johan ...

and radio personality

Carl Bødtker Carl Fredrik Johannes Bødtker (19 May 1886 – 5 February 1980) was a Norwegian engineer and radio personality. Early and personal life He was born at Oscarsborg Fortress as a son of Major General Carl Fredrik Johannes Bødtker (1851–1928) and ...

. In November 1887 he married Inger Marie Soot (1858–1939), a daughter of another log driving inspector.

Career

The family moved to Tønsberg in 1861, and despite ill health he graduated from middle school. He then attended Trondhjem Technical School between 1878 and 1881. He worked as a road engineer from 1882 to 1883, and with mapping from 1883 to 1889. From 1890 to 1932 he was the director of log driving in the Halden Watershed. Several dams and canals were constructed during his period; the lakes Setten,

Rødenessjøen Rødenessjøen is a lake in the municipalities of Aurskog-Høland in Akershus county and Marker in Østfold county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of ...

Femsjøen Femsjøen is a lake in the municipality of Halden in Østfold county, Norway. It is the source of the river Tista. Referencesrences See also *List of lakes in Norway This is a list of lakes and reservoirs in Norway, sorted by county. F ...

(twice),

Øgderen Øgderen is a lake in the municipalities of Aurskog-Høland in Akershus county and Trøgstad in Østfold county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which ...

, Ertevann,

Øymarksjøen Øymarksjøen is a lake in the municipalities of Aremark and Marker in Østfold county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western an ...

, Aspern and

Ara ARA may refer to: Media and the arts * American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences * '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia * Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Aca ...

were regulated. In 1907 the Tista Canal was finished. He was also a member of the executive committee of

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

. In 1932 he retired, and took on writing the history of log driving in Norway. This was released in two volumes, ''Norsk fløtnings historie inntil 1860'' (1938) and ''Norsk fløtnings historie 1860 inntil 1943'' (1945). Bødtker died in March 1946 in

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boedtker, Ragnvald 1859 births 1946 deaths Norwegian engineers 20th-century Norwegian historians People from Overhalla People from Tønsberg People from Halden Østfold politicians