Bernhard Dunker (22 May 1809 – 28 July 1870) was a Norwegian jurist, barrister and Attorney General of Norway.

Personal life

Dunker was born in the

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

Southern Jutland Southern Jutland ( da, Sønderjylland; German: Südjütland) is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called da, Nør ...

to Conradine Birgitte Hansteen and Johan Friedrich Wilhelm Dunker, and came to Norway when he was one year old. He was a brother of Vilhelmine Ullmann, and nephew of astronomer

Christopher Hansteen Christopher Hansteen (26 September 1784 – 11 April 1873) was a Norwegian geophysicist, astronomer and physicist, best known for his mapping of Earth's magnetic field. Early life and career Hansteen was born in Christiania as the son of ...

. He married Edle Jasine Theodore Grundt in 1839, and among their children was writer and feminist

Mathilde Schjøtt Mathilde Schjøtt (née Dunker) (19 February 1844 – 13 January 1926) was a Norwegian writer, literary critic, biographer and feminist. She made her literary debut with the anonymous ''Venindernes samtale om Kvindens Underkuelse'' in 1871. S ...

. He was uncle of politician and feminist

Ragna Nielsen Ragna Vilhelmine Nielsen (née Ullmann) (17 July 1845 – 29 September 1924) was a Norwegian pedagogue, school headmistress, publicist, organizer, politician and feminist. Personal life Ragna Nielsen was born in Christiania (now Oslo) to Jø ...

and educator and politician

Viggo Ullmann Johan Christian Viggo Ullmann (21 December 1848 – 30 August 1910) was a Norwegian educator and politician with Venstre, the Norwegian social-liberal party. He was the son of the author Vilhelmine Ullmann, brother of the feminist Ragna Nielse ...

, grandfather of architect

Jens Gram Dunker Jens Gram Dunker (February 17, 1892 – August 25, 1981) was a Norwegian architect. He was noted for his work in the transition between neo-classicism and functionalism in Norwegian architecture. Dunker made significant contributions to ...

, and father-in-law of philologist and politician Peter Olrog Schjøtt.

Career

Dunker was barrister with access to work with the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

from 1841. Among his more than 800 court cases, the trial against

Marcus Thrane Marcus Møller Thrane (14 October 1817 – 30 April 1890) was a Norwegian author, journalist, and the leader of the first labour movement in Norway. It was later known as the Thrane movement (''Thranebevegelsen''). Early life Thrane was bo ...

and his supporters is probably best known, when Bunker defended their demands for right to vote and political rights. He served as Attorney General of Norway from 1859 to 1870. His written works include ''Om den norske Constitution'' (1845), ''Om Revision af Foreningsakten mellem Sverige og Norge'' and ''Reise til Tellemarken og til Arendal sommeren 1852''. He chaired the board of

Christiania Theatre Christiania Theatre, or ''Kristiania Theatre'', was Norway's finest stage for spoken drama from 4 October 1836 (opening date) to 1 September 1899. It was located at Bankplassen by the Akershus Fortress, in central Christiania. It was the fir ...

from 1860 to 1863, and again from 1865 to 1866. He was decorated Knight of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1860, and was Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of t ...

In literature

The barrister "Berent" in

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguishe ...

's play ''En Fallit'' is modelled after Dunker, and Bjørnson also wrote the poem "Til Regjeringsadvokat Dunker" dedicated to him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunker, Bernhard 1809 births 1870 deaths People from the Duchy of Schleswig Norwegian jurists Knights of the Order of the Polar Star