Jorgensen, Jorgen (1780-1841), was a Danish adventurer who settled in Sydney in 1801. In 1809, Jorgensen took a merchant ship to Iceland, which was then governed by Denmark. There, he arrested the Danish governor. Jorgensen sent notice to the British government that he had annexed Iceland for the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom refused to recognize his act. Meanwhile, Jorgensen ruled Iceland as a self-appointed king. Two months later, a British naval officer arrested Jorgensen and restored the legal Danish governor.
In 1820, Jorgensen was sentenced to be transported for petty crime. He landed in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1826. He received his pardon after solving a crime concerning the theft of 4,000 British pounds. Jorgensen also became a constable and editor of a local newspaper.
