Claes Adelsköld
Encyclopedia
Claes Adolf Adelsköld was a Swedish
civil engineer
, railway engineer, Army
officer, member of the upper house
of the Parliament of Sweden
, and writer.
, Adelsköld was born in Nolhaga, Alingsås Municipality
, on 7 September 1824.
, serving in the Swedish Army
's Göta
Artillery
Regiment
and became a lieutenant in 1844 in the Värmland
jäger
regiment; in 1849 he participated in the creation of the first Swedish railway open to civilian use. In 1852, he became a lieutenant in the newly-organized Civil Engineering
Corps
, and continued to advance in the Corps until taking leave in 1875, when he was elected a member of the Riksdag
. With 26 years in railway and canal
construction (in 1865 he had become an ombudsman for the Hjälmare kanal
), Adelsköld proudly called himself "Sveriges rallarbuse Nr.1" (roughly, "Swedish Navvy
#1" or "Swedish Roughneck
#1").
of the Riksdag (which at that time was bicameral), in which he served until 1893: at first for Västerbotten County
and later for Blekinge County
. He was a supporter of free trade
and showed particular interest in defense issues.
, where he led an extensive social life with people that included Prince Oscar (the future Oscar II
). He sold the castle in 1873 and in 1876 repurchased the traditional family property Nolhaga in Alingsås Municipality, where he built a castle-like building (now a conference center). In 1870 he was elected to the Swedish Academy of Sciences, of which he became chairman in 1891. He died on 1 October 1907 in Stockholm
.
Adelsköld Street near the railway station in Alingsås is named after Claes Adelsköld.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, railway engineer, Army
Swedish Army
The Swedish Army is one of the oldest standing armies in the world and a branch of the Swedish Armed Forces; it is in charge of land operations. General Sverker Göranson is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Army.- Organization :...
officer, member of the upper house
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
of the Parliament of Sweden
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
, and writer.
Background
A member of the noble family of that nameAdelsköld
Adelsköld is the surname of a noble Swedish family. -History:According to tradition, the family descended from an old Scottish noble family. The family's oldest known male-line ancestor was Anders Hansson, bricklayer master in Helsingborg during the first half of the 17th century...
, Adelsköld was born in Nolhaga, Alingsås Municipality
Alingsås Municipality
Alingsås Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Alingsås....
, on 7 September 1824.
Military and engineering
He studied in GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, serving in the Swedish Army
Swedish Army
The Swedish Army is one of the oldest standing armies in the world and a branch of the Swedish Armed Forces; it is in charge of land operations. General Sverker Göranson is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Army.- Organization :...
's Göta
Göta
Göta is a Swedish female name. The name is the female form of Göte, and it was a popular name during the first half of the 20th century.See also: Götaland, Göta älv, Götar, Svea...
Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
Regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
and became a lieutenant in 1844 in the Värmland
Värmland
' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
jäger
Jäger (military)
Jäger is a term that was adopted in the Enlightenment era in German-speaking states and others influenced by German military practice to describe a kind of light infantry, and it has continued in that use since then....
regiment; in 1849 he participated in the creation of the first Swedish railway open to civilian use. In 1852, he became a lieutenant in the newly-organized Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
Corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
, and continued to advance in the Corps until taking leave in 1875, when he was elected a member of the Riksdag
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
. With 26 years in railway and canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
construction (in 1865 he had become an ombudsman for the Hjälmare kanal
Hjälmare kanal
Hjälmaren Canal is a 13 kilometres long canal that connects Lake Hjälmaren with Lake Mälaren in Sweden.The canal was taken into use in 1639, aimed to transport iron from the Central Swedish Mining District to Stockholm and further abroad. Plans to extend the canal east of Örebro to Lake Vänern and...
), Adelsköld proudly called himself "Sveriges rallarbuse Nr.1" (roughly, "Swedish Navvy
Navvy
Navvy is a shorter form of navigator or navigational engineer and is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects...
#1" or "Swedish Roughneck
Roughneck
Roughneck is a slang term for a person whose occupation is hard-manual labour, typically in a dangerous working environment. The term applies across a number of industries, but is most commonly associated with oil rigs...
#1").
Political career
In 1875 he was elected a member of the upper houseUpper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
of the Riksdag (which at that time was bicameral), in which he served until 1893: at first for Västerbotten County
Västerbotten County
Västerbotten County is a county or län in the north of Sweden. It borders the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the Gulf of Bothnia.- Provinces :...
and later for Blekinge County
Blekinge County
Blekinge County is a county or län in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne, Kronoberg, Kalmar and the Baltic Sea. The capital is Karlskrona...
. He was a supporter of free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
and showed particular interest in defense issues.
Personal life
In 1867 he bought Steninge Castle in Sigtuna MunicipalitySigtuna Municipality
Sigtuna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Märsta.The municipality is a part of Metropolitan Stockholm....
, where he led an extensive social life with people that included Prince Oscar (the future Oscar II
Oscar II of Sweden
Oscar II , baptised Oscar Fredrik was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death and King of Norway from 1872 until 1905. The third son of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, he was a descendant of Gustav I of Sweden through his mother.-Early life:At his birth in Stockholm, Oscar...
). He sold the castle in 1873 and in 1876 repurchased the traditional family property Nolhaga in Alingsås Municipality, where he built a castle-like building (now a conference center). In 1870 he was elected to the Swedish Academy of Sciences, of which he became chairman in 1891. He died on 1 October 1907 in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
Adelsköld Street near the railway station in Alingsås is named after Claes Adelsköld.
Partial bibliography
- En resa till Nordkap (1889) A trip to the North Cape
- Äventyr under en resa till Bornholm (1892) Adventure during a trip to Bornholm
- Utdrag ur mitt dagsverks, o. pro diverse konto (2:a uppl. i fyra band, totalt 1764 sidor, Albert Bonniers Förlag , 1899-1901). Excerpts from my day-work (2nd edition in four volumes, totaling 1764 pages)
- Karl den tolfte och svenskarne. En historisk studie (del 1-2, 1903). Charles the Twelfth and Swedish trees: A historical study
- Uttalanden i malmfrågan (1907) Statements on the ore issue
- Konung Gustaf Eriksson Wasa (1907) King Gustav Eriksson Vasa