Carl Frederik Tietgen (19 March 1829 – 19 October 1901) was a Danish financier and industrialist. He played an important role in the

industrialisation Industrialisation ( UK) or industrialization ( US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive reorganisation of an economy for th ...

of Denmark as the founder of numerous prominent Danish companies, many of which are still in operation today. Tietgen notably formed conglomerates, thus several of Tietgen's companies attained

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

-like status, cementing their durability. Tietgen was a dedicated Grundtvigian, and financed the completion of the Marble Church at his own expense.

Early life and career

Tietgen was born on 19 March 1829 in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, the son of a

social club A social club or social organization may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation or activity with in an organizational association known as a Club (organization), club. Exampl ...

manager catering to the local

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

. He helped his family out at the club throughout his childhood. After finishing his commercial apprenticeship, he worked in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for five years, and settled in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. During that time he also traveled to northern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. In the United Kingdom Tietgen gained experience in private banking, which at that time in Denmark was an industry still in its infancy.

Career at Privatbanken

Upon returning to Denmark Tietgen founded a wholesale business, C.F. Tietgen & Co., at Copenhagen’s

Amagertorv Amagertorv () is a public square in the district of Indre By in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Today it forms part of the Strøget pedestrian zone, and is often described as the most central square in Copenhagen. Second only to Gammeltorv, it is ...

in 1855, and later relocated it to Gammeltorv Market. In spite of the office impressive locations, the business was a modest sole proprietorship, dealing primarily as an agent between business connections in

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. In 1857 after his involvement as curator in a bankruptcy had demonstrated a remarkable eye for economy and strategic thinking, he was invited to join the management of which under him developed into Denmark's first

investment bank Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

. In the span of four decades as head of , Tietgen created and consolidated a large number of companies, and gained control of major companies in several industrial sectors. In the transportation industry Tietgen developed several railroads, capitalized

Burmeister & Wain Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it g ...

as well as Svitzer in 1872. He created

Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literally ''The United Steamship Company''). DFDS was founded in 1866, when C.F. Tietgen merged the three ...

as a merger of several smaller operators and in 1880 founded

Thingvalla Line Thingvalla line was a shipping company founded by Danish financier, industrialist and philanthropist Carl Frederik Tietgen in 1879 in Copenhagen, Denmark. It maintained a route between Copenhagen and New York City calling at Oslo, Kristiania (p ...

. Tietgen created several companies in the telegraph and telecommunications sector. He founded Det Store Nordiske Telegraf-Selskab in 1868, and with the arrival of the telephone

KTAS KTAS (channel 33) is a television station licensed to San Luis Obispo, California, United States, serving the Central Coast of California as an affiliate of Diya TV. Owned by Major Market Broadcasting, the station maintains studios on Carmen La ...

was founded in 1880. In 1872 Tietgen formed

De Danske Sukkerfabrikker () was a Denmark, Danish sugar manufacturing company established in 1872 in Copenhagen, Denmark. It played a central role in the development of a thriving Danish sugar industry based on sugar beets from Lolland-Falster, Møn and Funen. The compan ...

as a merger of several sugar refineries. In 1873 followed the cofounding of the Tuborg brewery and the consolidation of several smaller coffee substitute companies forming . In 1881 several smaller distillers were merged to form De Danske Spritfabrikker and in 1891 the merger of several independent breweries formed . In 1869 Tietgen cofounded with a group of European bankers, which in 1872 merged to form Paribas. Tietgen was a major force and a European pioneer in industrial consolidation. Tietgen would merge several competing companies in a given industry, creating large publicly traded stock companies. would become a major shareholder in the new company, as would a circle of business associates and Tietgen himself. He retired from in 1896, after suffering a stroke in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1894.

Founded companies

* Det Store Nordiske Telegraf-Selskab (1868) The companies founded or co-founded by Tietgen include: *

(1872), today part of

Danisco Danisco A/S is a Denmark, Danish bio-based company with activities in food production, enzymes and other bioproducts as well as a wide variety of pharmaceutical grade excipients. It was formed in 1989 from the largest Danish industrial merger e ...

* B&W (1872) *

(1879) * De Danske Spritfabrikker (1881), today part of Danisco *

(1882) *

(1866) *

Tuborg Brewery Tuborg is a Danish brewing company founded in 1873 on a harbour in Hellerup, to the north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 1970 it has been part of the Carlsberg Group. The brewery's flagship, the Tuborg pilsner, was brewed for the first time in 18 ...

Philanthropist

Tietgen was also to some extent a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, notably paying for the completion of Marble Church. He also built Taarbæk Church on the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...

coast north of Copenhagen.

Personal life

Tietgen married 19-year-old Laura Charlotte Jørgensen on 8 August 1855 in Vejstrup on the island of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

. Tietgen suffered partial

paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...

following a minor

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

in 1894. He was weakened for the last years of his life, causing him to retire from most of his positions. Tietgen died in the evening of 19 October 1901 and a memorial ceremony took place at the Marble Church on 23 October. He was buried in

Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish language, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping stre ...

on 29 October 1901.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tietgen, Carl Frederik 19th-century Danish businesspeople 19th-century Copenhagen City Council members People from Odense 1829 births 1901 deaths GN Store Nord people Danish financial businesspeople Danish bankers Danish financial company founders