Jacob Benzon (31 October 1688 – 25 November 1775) was a

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 ...

nobleman, civil servant and Governor-general of Norway. Benzon's career began as a court

junker Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...

at the Royal Danish Cavalry Academy in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

1704–06. He held various state positions in Copenhagen 1715–1726. In 1726 he became a

amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff. He was the most seni ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, and from 1730 to 1737 he held the same position 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 ...

. He was then amtmann of

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

from 1740, Vice-Governor of Copenhagen 1747–50 and was from 1750 Vice- Governor-general of Norway. After

Charles of Hesse Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel (, German and ; 19 December 1744 – 17 August 1836) was a cadet member of the house of Hesse-Kassel and a Danish general field marshal. Brought up with relatives at the Danish court, he spent most of his life in D ...

had been the titular Governor-general of Norway for four years (1766–70) without residing in Norway, Benzon was appointed to Governor-general on 26 January 1770, a position he held for only one year. He was deposed on 8 February 1771, leaving the position vacant until 1809. In the Danish Biographical Lexicon, he is characterized by these statements: "He had gradually owned a number of manors in Denmark such as Aastrup,

Aggersvold Aggersvold is a manor house and estate located just north of Jyderup, Holbæk Municipality, some 80 kilometres west of Copenhagen, Denmark. The current main building was built in 1833-35 for major-general Harald Rothe (1781-1848). It was listed on ...

and Benzonsdal, which he again sold. He had a considerable wealth, which he, however, was partly regarded as having amassed by a stinginess which was unworthy of him." "As a Norwegian official for a long number of years, Benzon had acquired both insight into and interest in Norway's special internal affairs, which of course was evident in many ways in his tenure, and he also enjoyed general positive recognition in Norway." He became a knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

in 1731, and a knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

in 1763. Benzon was unmarried, and his fortune was inherited by a nephew.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benzon, Jacob 1688 births 1775 deaths County governors of Norway Governors-general of Norway Danish nobility Benzon family