Bagge, Gustav Pontus (July 31, 1839 - December 31, 1915)

Gustav Pontus Bagge (July 31, 1839 - December 31, 1915) was a Swedish military officer, cartographer and artist who emigrated to, and was active in, France in the 19th century. He had been an officer in the Swedish guard and was in charge of the Swedish War School's topographical training, whilst also engaged in painting and in museum work. On the outbreak of the Franco-German War in 1870, he resigned from the Swedish Army to join the French Army. He was appointed Capitaine du génie and was awarded the Legion of Honor. He was one of the few Swedes who remained in Paris during the turmoil during the Paris Commune, and the sketches and notes he then made have a great historical value. After the war, he was employed as a geographer by the publisher Hachette et Cie in Paris, where he would remain for 30 years. The French Topographical Society awarded him their gold medal in 1911. He continued to produce art as well, and participated in an art exhibition in Gothenburg in 1886.