Anton Christian Houen (September 18, 1823 – July 26, 1894) was a Norwegian teacher, philanthropist, and businessman.

At age 15 Houen left Norway, and in 1845 he started his own company in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, where he traded with various countries around the Mediterranean.

[2] He retired at age 50 with a considerable fortune,[1] and he spent most of his last years in Florence, Italy.

Houen donated many large sums of money for various purposes in Norway, including a major sum for Fridtjof Nansen's Fram expedition of 1893–1896,[3] the National Gallery, and a new organ in Trinity Church in his hometown of Arendal, which could not afford the new organ because of bankruptcy in 1886.

The square is located in front of Trinity Church and serves as a memorial for the fallen from Arendal during the Second World War.