Svend Borchmann Hersleb (7 March 1784 – 12 September 1836) was a Norwegian professor of theology who also served one term in the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...

Personal life

He was born in

Alstahaug Alstahaug is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandnessjøen. Som ...

Svend Borchmann Hersleb
at the University of Bergen as the youngest son of Jørgen Sverdrup Hersleb and his wife Anna Svendsdatter Borchmann. He had several brothers and sisters. His sister Else married local businessman

Jonas Greger Walnum Jonas Greger Walnum (20 August 1771 – 10 March 1838) was a Norwegian property owner and politician. Walnum was born at Steigen in Nordland, Norway. He was the son of Ole Henriksen Walnum (1740-1773) and Else Marie Greger (1746-1812). He inheri ...

Career

Hersleb graduated from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

cand.theol. Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has re ...

in 1807. He had befriended

N. F. S. Grundtvig Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (; 8 September 1783 – 2 September 1872), most often referred to as N. F. S. Grundtvig, was a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian, teacher and politician. He was one of the most influential pe ...

there, and stayed in Denmark after graduation to work as a teacher at the

Metropolitanskolen Metropolitanskolen ("The Metropolitan School") was a school in Copenhagen, Denmark founded in 1209 by the Bishop , and for centuries one of the most prestigious schools in the country. History The school was founded in 1209 next to the Church of ...

. Following the foundation of the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in Christiania was founded in 1811, Hersleb was hired as a lector in 1813. He became the first teacher in theology at the university, and together with

Stener Johannes Stenersen Stener Johannes Stenersen (15 July 1835 – 7 July 1904) was a Norwegian veterinarian. Stenersen was born in Elverum in Hedmark, Norway. He was a son of priest Gabriel Hofgaard Stenersen and Anne Birgitte Irgens. He was a nephew of theologian Ste ...

, he is credited with founding the Faculty of Theology. Hersleb, who became professor in 1814, and Stenersen were the only academic staff at the faculty until 1832. Hersleb remained professor until his death. Hersleb, noted as strongly orthodox, was among the founders of the

Norwegian Bible Society The Norwegian Bible Society (Norwegian: ) is a Norwegian Christian foundation which translates, produces, and distributes the Bible in Norway. It is the official Bible society of Norway. The Norwegian Bible Society is organized as a publishing c ...

in 1816. He was also elected to the

in 1827, representing the constituency of Christiania. He served only one term.Svend Borchmann Hersleb
– Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD) His friend N. F. S. Grundtvig named his son Svend Hersleb Grundtvig.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hersleb, Svend Borchmann 1784 births 1836 deaths People from Alstahaug Members of the Storting Politicians from Oslo Norwegian theologians University of Copenhagen alumni Norwegian expatriates in Denmark Academic staff of the University of Oslo 19th-century Protestant theologians 19th-century Lutherans