Harald Bluetooth

910–986 CE · King of Denmark · Jelling

AI-generated illustration · not a historical portrait

King who unified Denmark and converted it to Christianity; "Bluetooth" technology is named after him.

Life

Son of Gorm the Old

Harald was the son of Gorm the Old, King of Denmark, and succeeded him c. 958. He unified Denmark and extended his power into Norway.

Jelling Stones

C. 965 he was baptized and led Denmark's conversion to Christianity. At Jelling he raised a great runestone for his parents whose inscription reads "that Harald who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian"; it is called "Denmark's birth certificate." He also built a series of ring fortresses.

Conversion

C. 986 he was wounded in a rebellion led by his son Sweyn Forkbeard and died.

Legacy

In 1997, a group of engineers named a short-range wireless communication technology after his nickname, "Bluetooth," meaning it would unify communication standards just as he had unified Denmark.

Did you know? The Bluetooth logo combines the two Scandinavian runes for his initials.

Key dates

958Accession (approx.)
965Baptized; Denmark converts to Christianity (approx.)
980Builds ring fortresses (approx.)
986Dies during a rebellion (approx.)

See the world in 965 on the map →