Christian Molbech

Christian Molbech (8 October 1783 – 23 June 1857) was a Danish historian, literary critic, writer, and theater director. He was a professor of literature at the University of Copenhagen and was the founding editor of Historisk Tidsskrift

Career Molbech was employed at the Royal Danish Library in 1804. He was thus never formally trained as a historian. In 1829 he succeeded Knud Lyne Rahbek as professor of literature at the University of Copenhagen. He also functioned as the director of the Royal Danish Theatre from 1830 to 1842.

In 1839 he participated in the founding of the Danish Historical Society (Den danske historiske Forening). In 1840, he was founder and first editor of Historisk Tidsskrift, which is the oldest still published scientific historical journal in the world.

Molbech also wrote various philological works, including "The Danish Dictionary" (Dansk Ordbog) 1828–1833 and the "Danish Dialect Dictionary" (Dansk Dialektleksikon) 1833–1841. Om public Bibliotheker (1829) was a pioneering work in library science. They were the parents of poet Christian Knud Frederik Molbech (1821–1888).

Christian Molbech was a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters and was made a Commander First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1853. He died in Copenhagen and was buried at Sorø Gamle Kirkegård.