Jens Oliver Lisberg
Encyclopedia
Faroese language
Faroese , is an Insular Nordic language spoken by 48,000 people in the Faroe Islands and about 25,000 Faroese people in Denmark and elsewhere...
) is one of the inventors of the Merkið, the flag of the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
.
While a law student in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, he devised the flag in 1919 with two other Faroese students, Janus Øssursson from Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...
and Paul Dahl from Vágur
Vágur
Vágur meaning Bay is a town on the Faroe Islands of Suðuroy, it is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and dates from the fourteenth century. Expansion has meant that the nearby town of Nes is now a suburb of Vágur...
. Lisberg raised the flag for the first time on Faroese soil on 22 June 1919 on returning to his home town of Fámjin
Fámjin
Fámjin is a village, located in the middle of the coastline on the western side of Suðuroy, the southernmost island in Faroe Islands. It has a population of around 100....
. It would not however receive official status until 25 April 1940 when the British occupation government
British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II
The British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II, also known as "Operation Valentine," was implemented immediately following the German invasion of Denmark and Norway....
approved its use as the civil ensign
Civil ensign
The civil ensign is the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality...
of the islands.
Lisberg died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on 31 August 1920. He is buried in Fámjin, where the church now holds the original copy of the Merkið.