Early career Graah enrolled at the
Royal Danish Naval Academy in an early age. He became a
second lieutenant in 1813 and a
first lieutenant in 1820- Om 1919, he published
Udkast til Danmarks Søekrigshistorie. In 1821, he was sent to Iceland tp cpmplete the mapping of the coastline (especially
Berufjord and its surroundings). In 1823–1824, he was sent to
West Greenland to map the coastline. The winter was spent in
Godhavn. In 1825, he published
Beskrivelse til det voxende Situations-Kaart over den vestlige Kyst af Grønland. In 1826-27, he was stationed at the Eider. They wintered at Nugarlik (63° 22' N) and returned to the settlements on the west coast of Greenland in 1830. Two
naturalists participated - the
geologist Christian Pingel and the
botanist Jens Vahl. Graah published an account of the exploration. Graah named the southeastern coast of Greenland
King Frederick VI Coast and mapped about 550 km of formerly uncharted territory. Although he had been asked to reach 69°, Graah fell short of his goal of going further north owing to innumerable hardships. He made numerous contacts with the now extinct
Southeast-Greenland Inuit, describing in detail some of their customs and way of life.
Later career After his return to Copenhagen, Graah was appointed as one of the directors of the
Royal Graanland Trading Department. He kept this post until 1850. In 1837-18388, Graah was sent to the
Danish West Indies as first-in-command of the brig
St. Thomas. He created a new nautical shart of the local waters. He say promotion to captain in 1840 but left the navy in 1841./ ==Personal life==