Who is the greatest Dane in history?

[TheCaptain]

In your opinion, who is the greatest Dane in history?
Read more about the candidates here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Blixen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_Brahe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canute_the_Great
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soren_Kierkegaard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Laudrup
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Peter_Moller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorn_Utzon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Orsted

[Maciamo]

I hesitated between Canute the Great, Niels Bohr and Arnold Peter Møller. I chose the latter because he had the biggest impact on modern Denmark by founding the Moller-Maersk Group, the largest container ship operator in the world. Bohr's contribution to the atomic bomb does not make him "great" (important, but not great).

[Derek Knatchbull]

Lars Von Trier
Briget Neilson
Peter Scheimichael
Hamlet
Flemming Christiansen

[Gwyllgi]

http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_7996764_7691_7734553_ap_320X240.jpg

Well, someone had to do it!

It's "George", and according to the Guiness Book of Records he's the biggest.

(I'm having a silly day today, I've decided!)

[superhorn]

I don't think there's any one "greatest" person of any nation . All of these are great Danes (not dogs!).
Another who is not listed here but should be is Denmarlk's greatest composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931 ),
who worte highly original and individualistic music, mostly famously his six symphonies , and many other
very interestign works .

[JFWR]

The answer is obviously Hamlet. As a historical individual he is not especially useful, but his fame has been vastly extended by his literary importance through Shakespeare.

Otherwise, Soren Kierkegaard should have been euthanized about the time that he left Regina Olson. Nihilists should never be regarded as worthy of admiration in any sense.

[oriental]

How about the Great Dane for animal lovers. :laughing:

[albanopolis]

I hesitated between Canute the Great, Niels Bohr and Arnold Peter Møller. I chose the latter because he had the biggest impact on modern Denmark by founding the Moller-Maersk Group, the largest container ship operator in the world. Bohr's contribution to the atomic bomb does not make him "great" (important, but not great).

Of course Niles Bohr was important and Great, but he was not Dane by blood. So that might be a disquolifier for Niels.

[Balder]

Peter Schmichael has a Pomeranian Polish father (half Dane of course).
Lars von Trier is half German (with a adoptive Jewish father)
Niels Bohr is half Jew.
:cool-v:

Also, Tycho Brahe was from north of Svalöv in then Danish Scania, now Swedish, to Otte Brahe (of the Brahe family). Technically today he would be a Swede.

And Carl Theodor Dreyer, famous Danish moviemaker, is half Swede. His mother was from Sweden.

[Templar]

Was Ragnar Lodbrok from modern-day Denmark? I couldn't find a conclusive answer for that anywhere.

[Barantes]

Was Ragnar Lodbrok from modern-day Denmark? I couldn't find a conclusive answer for that anywhere.

According to Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, he was a 9th century Danish king. That's about all it says however.