PONTOPPIDAN, Erik (1698-1764), a learned Danish author, was born at Aarhuus on August 24, 1698, and studied divinity at the university of Copenhagen. On finishing his education he was appointed travelling tutor to several young noblemen in succession, and in 1735 he became one of the chaplains of the king. In 1738 he was made professor extraordinarius of theology at Copenhagen, and in 1747 bishop of Bergen, Norway, where he died on December 20, 1764.

His principal works are — Theatrum Danise veteris et modernise (4to, 1730), a description of the geography, natural history, antiquities, &c., of Denmark; Gesta et Vestigia Danorum extra Daniam (2 vols. 8vo, 1740), of which laborious work it is enough to remark that it was written before the rise of the modern historical school; Annales Ecclesiae Danicae (4 vols. 4to); Marmora Danica Selectiora (2 vols, fol., 1739-41); Glossarium Norvegicum (1749); Det forste Fors'ôg paa Norges naturlige Historie (4to, 1752-54; Eng. trans., Natural History of Norway, 1755), containing curious accounts, often referred to, of the Kraaken, sea-serpent, and the like; 0rigenes Hafnienses (1760). His Danske Atlas (7 vols. 4to) was mostly posthumous.