Age: 37
Served: 9 years
January 30, 1899 to May 23, 1908
OFFICER
Charles was born March 12, 1871 in Denmark. As a young adolescent, he served as an apprentice to a horticulturalist in the royal gardens of the King Christian IX of Denmark and was thereafter very interested in botany. He went to sea at the age of 13, passed through countless adventures, and traveled all over the world. He survived many shipwrecks and explored South America all the way into the headwaters of the Amazon River.
Charles immigrated to the United States as a 20-year-old in 1891 and enlisted in the United States Navy. During July 1898 he fought in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba against Spain – the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War – which resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy’s Caribbean Squadron. When his second enlistment ended in 1899, Charles moved to Cincinnati.
Charles was appointed to the Cincinnati Police Department on January 30, 1899 as a Substitute Patrolman. He was first assigned to the Bicycle Squad and then transferred to Mounted Patrol.
He soon married Helen Knecht and built a home across the street from her family’s home at 3135 McHenry Road. By 1908, he and his wife had three boys, and he had served his adopted country and community 17 years.
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