Holger Forchhammer

Holger Forchhammer (21 October 1866 – 19 May 1946) was a Danish senior physician, footballer, and football executive, who was the 2nd chairman of the Danish Sports Confederation (DIF) from 1897 to 1899. He was just 31 years old when he took office, thus being the youngest chairman of DIF to date. He became known for his great work to promote children and young people's access to sports. Forchhammer was a reserve doctor at Kysthospitalet in Refsnæs in 1893–94, and two years later, in 1896, he became the head of the medical consultation room of Denmark's first hospital in the present-day meaning of the word, the Frederiks Hospital. He thus became a doctor at Finsen's Medical Light Institute in Copenhagen in 1898, where he was chief physician from 1899 to 1912. Due to a collaboration with Herlufsholm School, where Holger's father was a rector, which revolves around the recruitment of talented players from that school, Holger Forchhammer and his brother Johannes were central figures in the foundation of FSK, with Holger becoming the club's first president. When Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (KB) took the initiative to look at the different forms of football and their laws in 1886, Holger from FSK was asked to be involved and he accepted. These rules were first used in a match the following year, in 1887. Prior to this, the matches would be played with a mixture of rugby and football rules, so this translation was a big step in the development of football in Denmark. Furthermore, he also refereed 11 first-division matches. This triple function as a player, coach, and referee with a total of 55 appearances made him the figure with the most first-division matches in a European league in the 19th century.

Personal life During the 1893 fire at Vallø Castle, Forchhammer rescued people from the fire. For his efforts, Forchhammer was awarded the Danish Medal for noble deeds. Forchhammer also received the Russian Order of Saint Anna.

Forchhammer married the actress . Together, the Forchhammers raised three children.

Later life Forchhammer died on the 19th May 1946, at the age of 79. After Forchhammer died, one of his childhood friends (K. Bülow) wrote this about him: "He was not the typical unapproachable head doctor type, but a good and understanding friend who knew how to gather everything and everyone around the great task: to lead Niels Finsen's ideas to victory for the benefit of suffering people".