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{{Short description|Norwegian diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize recipient (1869–1938)}}
{{for|his grandfather, the Norwegian historian and archivist|Christian C. A. Lange}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name  = Christian Lous Lange
| image = Christian Lous Lange.jpg
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|df=y|1869|9|17}}
| birth_place = [[Stavanger]], [[Sweden-Norway]]
| death_date  = {{death date and age|df=y|1938|12|11|1869|9|17}}
| death_place  = [[Oslo]], Norway
| awards       = Nobel Peace Prize (1921)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jain |first1=C |title=Awards - Nobel Peace Prize |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1921/lange/facts/ |website=Christian Lange Facts}}</ref>
}}
'''Christian Lous Lange''' (17 September 1869 – 11 December 1938) was a Norwegian historian, teacher, and [[political science|political scientist]]. He was one of the world's foremost exponents of the theory and practice of [[Internationalism (politics)|internationalism]].

== Early life and education ==
He was born in [[Stavanger]]; his father was a military engineer and he was the grandson of the historian [[Christian C. A. Lange]]. He graduated from secondary school in 1887 and proceeded to travel and study history, [[English language|English]], and [[French language|French]] at the [[University of Oslo]], from which he received the [[cand. philol.]] degree in 1893.  He taught at secondary schools for many years and eventually returned to the University of Oslo to receive a [[doctorate]].

== Career ==
In 1899, he had his first official role in the internationalist movement when he was appointed secretary of the committee organizing an [[Oslo]] conference of the [[Inter-Parliamentary Union]], an organization dedicated to fostering discussion between parliamentarians of different countries.  The next year, he was made secretary of the [[Norwegian Nobel Committee|Nobel Committee]] of the [[Norwegian Parliament]] and, although he gave up the position in 1909, he would play a key role in the early days of the [[Norwegian Nobel Institute]].  During this time he was the Norwegian technical delegate to the [[Second Hague Peace Conference]].

Lange rejoined the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 1909 when he was appointed secretary general of the organization, a position he would retain until 1933.  As secretary general he oversaw the Union's move to [[Brussels]], sustained it in [[Oslo]] through the challenging times of [[World War I]], then moved it again to [[Geneva]] after the war.  He remained active in numerous other organizations as well, acting as Norway's delegate or alternate delegate to the [[League of Nations]] from its founding until 1938, writing reports and acting as a correspondent for the [[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]], and participating in the Dutch sponsored [[Central Organisation for Durable Peace]], among other activities.  He was often called upon for his expertise in arbitration and arms control, in particular.

His intellectual support of internationalism was demonstrated by the first of a three volume historical treatise (''Histoire de l'internationalisme'').  The work, published in 1919, was said to contribute to the ideological preparation for the [[League of Nations]].<ref>"[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1921/lange-bio.html Christian Lange – Biography]". Nobelprize.org Retrieved October 11, 2010</ref> For this and all his other activities, Lange shared the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] with [[Hjalmar Branting]] in 1921.

== Personal life and death ==
Lange died at the age of 69, one day after the 17th anniversary of his receipt of the Nobel Prize.  He was the father of [[Carl Viggo Manthey Lange]],  [[Halvard Lange]] and [[August Lange|Christian August Manthey Lange]].

His daughter Thora was a history and language teacher, from 1938 at [[Oslo Cathedral School]]. During the [[occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany]] she joined the [[Norwegian resistance movement|resistance movement]] while her husband went in exile. She was imprisoned at [[Grini concentration camp]] in September 1943, but fell ill and died at [[Ullevål University Hospital|Ullevål Hospital]] in December.<ref name=falne>{{cite book|last=Ording|first=Arne|author-link=Arne Ording |author2=Johnson, Gudrun |author3=Garder, Johan|title=[[Våre falne 1939-1945]]|publisher=Grøndahl|location=Oslo|year=1950|volume=3|page=63|chapter-url=http://da2.uib.no/cgi-win/WebBok.exe?slag=lesside&bokid=vaarefalne3&sideid=64&storleik=|chapter=Lange, Thora Manthey|access-date=29 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor=Faaland |editor2=Midtvik |editor3=Sandvik|author=Midtvik, Målfrid|title=Stabekk kommunale høgre skole. Ved 25-årsjubileet 1948|pages=74–75|chapter=Thora Manthey Lange|language=no|year=1948}}</ref>

Lange was a member of the [[Norwegian Association for Women's Rights]].<ref>{{cite news |date=1936-05-05|title=Upprop|url=https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_norsktidend_null_null_19360505_2_103_1 |work=Norsk Tidend}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of peace activists]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Nobelprize}} including the Nobel Lecture, December 13, 1921 ''Internationalism''

{{Nobel Peace Prize Laureates 1901-1925}}
{{Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee}}
{{1921 Nobel Prize winners}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lange, Christian Lous}}
[[Category:1869 births]]
[[Category:1938 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Stavanger]]
[[Category:20th-century Norwegian historians]]
[[Category:Norwegian political scientists]]
[[Category:Norwegian Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Nobel Peace Prize laureates]]
[[Category:University of Oslo alumni]]
[[Category:Inter-Parliamentary Union]]
[[Category:Norwegian anti-war activists]]
[[Category:Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people]]