{{Short description|Norwegian/Danish economist, civil servant, and poet}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Christen Pram | image = Christen Henriksen Pram.jpg | caption = | birth_name = Christen Henriksen Pram | birth_date = {{Birth date|1756|9|4|df=y}} | birth_place = Lesja, Norway | death_date = {{Death date and age|1821|11|28|1756|9|4|df=y}} | death_place = Saint Thomas, in the Danish West Indies | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline}} --> | monuments = | other_names = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = Economist<br>Civil servant<br>Poet<br>Novelist<br>Playwright<br>Diarist<br>Magazine editor | years_active = | employer = | organization = | agent = | known_for = | notable_works = | style = | television = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | awards = }}
'''Christen Henriksen Pram''' (4 September 1756 – 28 November 1821) was a Norwegian/Danish economist, civil servant, poet, novelist, playwright, diarist and magazine editor. He is held as the first Norwegian novelist, although his writing was carried out in the Danish language.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dwis.dk/artikler-i-medlemsblade/134-christen-prams-breve-fra-dansk-vestindien-1820-1821|title=Christen Prams breve fra Dansk Vestindien 1820-1821|language=Danish|website=dwis.dk|access-date=5 March 2024}}</ref>
==Personal life== Christen was born in Lesja, a son of Minister Henrik Frederik Pram and Olava Maria de Stockfleth. When he was eight years old, he moved with his family to Denmark, when his father assumed a position as vicar in Sjælland. He married Maria Magdalena Erichsen in 1782. He died on the island of Saint Thomas, in the Danish West Indies, in 1821.<ref name=nbl>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Christen Pram |encyclopedia=Norsk biografisk leksikon|first=Rolf Nyboe |last=Nettum |authorlink=Rolf Nyboe Nettum |editor=Helle, Knut |editor-link=Knut Helle |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo |url=http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Christen_Pram/utdypning |language=Norwegian |accessdate=5 November 2011}}</ref> Pram was a member of the Norwegian Society in Copenhagen.
==Career== Prom assumed various positions in Kommercekollegiet (the Copenhagen College of Commerce), where he was appointed in 1781.<ref name=nbl/> He made his literary breakthrough in 1782, with the poem "Emilias Kilde".<ref name=nlh1/> His best known literary work is the epic cycle of poems ''Stærkodder'' of 1785,<ref name=snl>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Christen Henriksen Pram |encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon|editor=Henriksen, Petter |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo |url=http://www.snl.no/Christen_Henriksen_Pram |language=Norwegian |accessdate=5 November 2011}}</ref> based on the legendary hero Starkaðr from Saxo Grammaticus{{`}} monumental work ''Gesta Danorum''. He co-founded and co-edited the cultural magazine ''Minerva'' from 1785, in cooperation with Knud Lyne Rahbek.<ref name=nbl/> He was the sole editor of ''Minerva'' from 1789, but after having received warnings over his enthusiasm for the French Revolution, he resigned as editor in 1793.<ref name=nlh1>{{cite book|series=Norges Litteraturhistorie |volume=1 |editor=Beyer, Edvard |editor-link=Edvard Beyer |language=Norwegian |title=Fra runene til Det Norske Selskab. Unionstiden med Danmark |first=Kjell |last=Heggelund |author-link=Kjell Heggelund |pages=612–614 |year=1974 |isbn=82-02-02992-9 |publisher=Cappelen |location=Oslo }}</ref>
In 1820, as a consequence of a failed marriage and economic difficulties, he moved to the Danish West Indies to assume a position as customs inspector in Charlotte Amalie on Saint Thomas. For his farewell party in Copenhagen, in April 1820, N. F. S. Grundtvig wrote the song ''Langt højere bjerge så vide på jord''. He died on Saint Thomas in 1821.
==Literary works== He is regarded as the first Norwegian novelist.<ref name=nbl/> Among his novels are ''Jørgen, en Dosmers Levnedsbeskrivelse (Jørgen, the Biography of a fool)'' and ''Hans Kruuskop'' of 1786, and ''John Thral. Bidrag til Frihedens Historie (John Thral. A Contribution to the History of Freedom)'' of 1787.<ref name=nbl/> He wrote the comedy ''Ægteskabsskolen (The School for Marriage)'' in 1795. In the same year he delivered a prize-winning contribution to the preparations for a university in Norway.<ref name=nbl/>
==Bibliography== * ''Philippa til Erik'' (1779) * ''Emilias Kilde'' (1782) * ''Hymne til Vaaren'' (1784) * ''Stærkodder. Et Digt i femten Sange'' (1785) * ''Jørgen, en Dosmers Levnedsbeskrivelse'', novel (1786) * ''Hans Kruuskop'', novel (1786) * ''John Thral. Bidrag til Frihedens Historie'' (1787) * ''Om en Husmoders Pligter'' (1787) * ''Lagertha'' (1789), historic drama * ''Damon og Pythias'' (1790), historic drama * ''Frode og Fingal'' (1790), historic drama * ''Forsøg om Dragten, især for Danmark og Norge'' (1791) * ''Negeren'' (1791), drama * ''Ægteskabsskolen. Lystspil i fem Akter'' (1795), drama * ''Serenaden eller de sorte Næser'' (1795), drama * ''Forsøg om en Højskoles Anlæg i Norge'' (1795) * ''Undersøgelse om den kjøbenhavnske Waisenhusstiftelse'' (1796) * ''Brønden'' (1800), drama * ''Frokosten i Bellevue'' (1803), drama
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Christen Henriksen Pram}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pram, Christen}} Category:1756 births Category:1821 deaths Category:18th-century Danish novelists Category:19th-century Danish novelists Category:18th-century male writers Category:Danish male novelists Category:Danish male poets Category:19th-century Norwegian novelists Category:People from Lesja Municipality Category:18th-century Norwegian poets Category:18th-century Danish poets Category:18th-century Norwegian writers Category:19th-century Norwegian male writers Category:Danish diarists Category:19th-century Danish letter writers Category:Norwegian male poets Category:18th-century Norwegian novelists Category:Norwegian diarists Category:18th-century diarists Category:Norwegian male novelists Category:Writers from Denmark–Norway