Nils Christian Egede Hertzberg

Nils Christian Egede Hertzberg (26 October 1827 – 8 July 1911) was the Norwegian theologian, educator and politician.

He was born in Ullensvang as a son of vicar and politician Niels Hertzberg (1759–1841) and Anna Christine Egede Thomsen (1789–1860). The family moved to Bergen when he was nine. In December 1864 he married Martha Catharina Marie Clauson (1844–1928). They had the sons Arthur Johan Hertzberg, Johan Hertzberg and Mikael Skjelderup Hertzberg, and Nils Hertzberg was also a brother-in-law of Claus Pavels Riis.

He enrolled in Bergen Cathedral School in 1841 and took the examen artium here in 1846. He later graduated from the Royal Frederick University with the cand.theol. degree in 1851. He was a teacher at the Norwegian Military Academy from 1853, and Asker Seminary from 1860. He was an avid outdoorsman, and took further education in 1865 when he attended the Central Gymnastic School. After that he took over the physical education for the future teachers at Asker Seminary, and organized both gymnastics, shooting and hikes. He also helped start teachers' courses in Centralforeningen for Udbredelse af Legemsøvelser og Vaabenbrug. Physical education was officially included in the teacher seminary curricula in 1867.

In 1867 Hertzberg took over as headmaster of Hamar Teachers' College. In Hamar city, he was an opposing force of the Grundtvigianism proposed by Olaus Arvesen and Herman Anker who founded Norway's first folk high school in the city. Hertzberg propagated his views in the periodical Norsk Skoletidende, started by him in 1869 and edited by him until 1873.