Egede. I. Hans, the apostle of Greenland, born in Norway, Jan. 31, 1G86, died in November, 1758. After having been several years a pastor near Drontheim, he resigned in 1717, to embark for Greenland as a missionary. The wars with Charles XII. of Sweden engrossing the public attention, he was unable immediately to execute his design; but he received the patronage of Frederick IV. of Denmark in 1719, set sail in May, 1721, with his wife, two sons, and some 40 other persons, and in July following landed on the coast of Greenland in lat. 64° N. His mildness and zeal gained the affections of the rude natives, and after several years of effort he was able to preach the gospel in their language. Various calamities, among which were the ravages of the smallpox, almost annihilated the result of his labors; yet before his departure he succeeded in laying a foundation for the propagation of Christianity and for an important commerce. The Danish government sent out three Moravian Brethren to aid him, and after a residence of 15 years in Greenland, Egede, seeing the colony flourishing, returned to Denmark. He published several works on Greenland, and superintended a seminary for the education of missionaries.

II. Paul, son of the preceding, born at Waagen, near Drontheim, in 1708, died June 3, 1789. He returned from Greenland in 1728, bringing several Esquimaux, but they all died of the smallpox. After studying theology he went back to the mission, and labored there four years after the return of his father. He translated the "Imitation of Christ " and portions of the Bible into the language of Greenland, and at his departure left the colony highly prosperous. He fulfilled various functions in Denmark, was active in expediting the exploring mission of Lovenon to the coast of Greenland, and at the time of his death occupied a chair of theology.