Hinrich Johannes Rink
| Hinrich Johannes Rink | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
26 August 1819 Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Died | 15 December 1893 (aged 74) Christiania, Norway |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Fields | Geology and Greenlandic research |
| Alma mater |
University of Copenhagen; University of Kiel |
| Known for | Founder of the first Kalaallisut language newspaper |
| Notable awards | Silver medal, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters (1852) |
Dr. Hinrich Johannes Rink (first name sometimes as Henrik) (26 August 1819 – 15 December 1893) was a Danish geologist, one of the pioneers of glaciology, and the first accurate describer of the inland ice of Greenland. Rink, who first came to Greenland in 1848, spent 16 winters and 22 summers in the Arctic region, and became notable for Greenland's development. Becoming a Greenlandic scholar and administrator, he served as Royal Inspector of South Greenland and went on to become Director of the Royal Greenland Trading Department. With "Forstanderskaber", Rink introduced the first steps towards Greelandic home rule.
Rink carried out and printed in four volumes the first systematic collection of Greenlandic oral tradition stories. He was the founder of Atuagagdliutit, the first Kalaallisut language newspaper.
Rink was born in Copenhagen to Holstein parents. His father was Johannes Rink (1783–1865), a Kiel, Germany merchant, and his mother was Agnese Margaretha (née Hedde) Rink (1793–1865); both were from Dithmarschen. He had a brother, Johan Jacob Rink (1815–1849).
Initially taught by a private teacher, he later went to study at the Sorø Academy. He studied physics and chemistry at the University of Kiel, receiving the university's Gold Medal in chemistry in 1843. For a time, he served as Assistant Professor under William Christopher Zeise. He graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Copenhagen. Rink studied medicine during the winter of 1844–45, taking an anatomy course and listening to lectures in Berlin. He was often depressed and vacillated with regard to his future.
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