Ole Herman Johannes Krag | |
|---|---|
 Ole Herman Johannes Krag | |
| Born | Ole Herman Johannes Krag (1837-04-07)7 April 1837 |
| Died | 9 December 1916(1916-12-09) (aged 79) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Inventor |
| Spouse | Karen Elise Theodora Collett |
| Children |
|
| Relatives | Herman Krag, brothersPeter Rasmus Krag andHans Hagerup Krag. Also, great uncleRasmus Krag. |
Ole Herman Johannes Krag (7 April 1837 – 9 December 1916) was aNorwegian officer andfirearmsdesigner.
Ole H. J. Krag was born inVaage (now spelled Vågå) inChristians amt (county), Norway. Krag grew up in various locations where his father, Hans Peter Schnitler Krag (1794–1855), served as pastor at churches inVaage (Vågå),Fredrikshald (Halden), andChristiania (Oslo). Krag was a student atHartvig Nissens skole in Oslo.
He started hismilitary career in January 1854. He became asecond lieutenant in 1857 and a fulllieutenant in 1861. In 1866 he was ordered toKongsberg Våpenfabrikk, the most important Norwegian weapons factory of its day.
Ole H J Krag constructed his firstrepeating rifle in 1868, which evolved into the Krag–Petersson (aided byAxel Petersson) by 1872. This, as well as his work in thearmoury, gave him a thorough understanding of what requirements theNorwegian Army had to a rifle, allowing him to create the successful Krag–Jørgensen with the help of his good friendErik Jørgensen.
He designed a wide range offirearms during his lifetime, but only two – theKrag–Petersson and theKrag–Jørgensen – were adopted by anyarmed forces. Fewer than 1,000 Krag–Peterssonrifles were made for theRoyal Norwegian Navy, while several hundreds of thousands Krag–Jørgensen rifles were made for theDanish,Norwegian andUSarmies.
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 alieutenant colonel in 1894.
In 1870, Krag married Karen Elise Theodora Collett (1844-1926). They were the parents ofLul Krag,[1] and of lawyer Herman Anton Johan Krag (1871–1931), and in turn the grandparents of architectHerman Krag (1920-1982).
Ole Krag retired in 1902. He is honored inKongsberg with a street named Krags gate. He died inParis in December 1916 and was buried in Oslo in January 1917.
