Peter Rochegune Munch - Background and Private Life

Background and Private Life

Peter Munch was an illegitimate child, growing up without a father in a small provincial town. The family was quite poor, and from an early age he had to work to help out his mother. He quickly showed great skill in school, and his mother decided to put him through high school, although this placed a great strain on their finances.

After having completed national service Munch attended studies at University of Copenhagen. Being without private means he worked in several jobs to support himself throughout his study time. He graduated with a first-class degree in history in 1895, and achieved a doctoral degree in 1900, writing a thesis on Danish local government in the 16th Century.

Around this time he married the well-known feminist Elna Sarauw with whom he would had one son. By nature Munch was very introvert, and not one who would easily connect with other people. He insisted on always using the most formal forms of address, and even with friends he didn't use first-names. This is also the reason why he became known only as P. Munch. His work ethic was, however, second to none, and his output in terms of books, pamphlets, articles (both academic and for newspapers), letters, diaries and other notes, is immense.