Jens Stefenson

While he still attended secondary school, Jens Stefenson competed in platform and plain high diving at the 1912 Olympic Games but did not advance to the final in either event. Although his father was a master builder, Jens enrolled at the Royal Swedish Naval Academy and embarked on a Navy career in 1916 as an ensign. From 1922-32, he went on several naval missions in Europe and South America.

From 1924-32, Stefenson was a lecturer in navigation at the Naval Academy and was promoted to lieutenant during this period. For three years, he was a teacher at the Non-Commissioned Officers’ School. In 1940, Stefenson was appointed department head at the Naval Staff, resigning in 1942. One year later, in 1943, he returned to the Naval Academy as its director in the rank of senior captain, a position he held until 1949. In the meantime, he was promoted to captain and became commander of the Karlskrona Naval Station, from which he retired in 1955.

Stefenson became a member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences in 1933 and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Military Sciences in 1947. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the Sword and Knight of the Order of the Polar Star and of the Order of Vasa. In other countries, he became Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark), Order of St. Olav (Norway), Knight of the Order of Maritime Merit (France) and was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Falcon (Iceland). He wrote a couple of handbooks on naval issues.

In 1919, Stefenson married Astrid Marianne Grönberg. They had three sons, one of whom became an admiral.