Born near Thisted, Denmark, Petersen immigrated to the United States in 1873 with his parents, who settled in Boston, Massachusetts. He moved to New York City in 1879. He attended the public schools and learned the patternmaker's trade. He served as president of the Brooklyn Foundry Co. 1900-1952.

Petersen was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1921-March 3, 1923). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress. He resumed manufacturing pursuits in Brooklyn, New York. He died in East Rockaway, New York, September 28, 1952. He was buried in Cypress Hills Abbey, Brooklyn, New York.

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