Ole Herman Johannes Krag (7 April 1837 – 9 December 1916) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

officer and firearms

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

Biography

Ole H. J. Krag was born in

Vågå Vågå () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågåmo. Other village areas in Vågå include Lalm and Besshe ...

, in

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The c ...

county, Norway. Krag grew up in various locations where his father, Hans Peter Schnitler Krag (1794–1855), served as pastor, including Vågå, Fredrikshald (Halden) and Christiania (Oslo). Krag was a student at Hartvig Nissens skole in Oslo. He started his

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

career in January 1854. He became a Second Lieutenant in 1857 and a full

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1861. In 1866 he was ordered to

Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk Kongsberg Gruppen is an international technology group headquartered in Norway, that supplies high-technology systems to customers in the merchant marine, defence, aerospace, offshore oil and gas industries, and renewable and utilities industri ...

, the most important Norwegian weapons factory of its day. Ole H J Krag constructed his first repeating rifle in 1868, which evolved into the Krag–Petersson (aided by Axel Petersson) by 1872. This, as well as his work in the

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are most ...

, gave him a thorough understanding of what requirements the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

had to a rifle, allowing him to create the successful Krag–Jørgensen with the help of his good friend Erik Jørgensen. He designed a wide range of firearms during his lifetime, but only two – the Krag–Petersson and the

Krag–Jørgensen The Krag–Jørgensen is a repeating bolt-action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Norway, Denmark, and the United States. About 300 we ...

– were adopted by any armed forces. Fewer than 1,000 Krag–Petersson rifles were made for the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

, while several hundreds of thousands Krag–Jørgensen rifles were made for the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

and US

armies An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. In 1880 he was named director of the armoury. After the Krag–Jørgensen was accepted as the main rifle of the Norwegian Army, he was made a Lieutenant Colonel in 1894.

Personal life

In 1870, Krag married Karen Elise Theodora Collett (1844-1926). They were the parents of Lul Krag, and of lawyer Herman Anton Johan Krag (1871–1931), and in turn the grandparents of architect Herman Krag (1920-1982). Ole Krag retired in 1902. He is honored in

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 ...

with a street named Krags gate. He died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in December 1916 and was buried in Oslo in January 1917.

References

*''Norske Militærgeværer etter 1867,'' by Karl Egil Hanevik,

External links

Krags gate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krag, Ole Herman Johannes 1837 births 1916 deaths People from Vågå Firearm designers Norwegian designers