Christian Ancher (27 July 1711 – 9 January 1765) was a Norwegian merchant, timber trader and ship owner.

Biography

Ancher was born in Søndre Land in

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...

, Denmark-Norway. He was the son of Bernt Ancher (1680–1724) and Karen Tanche (1685–1758). The son of a vicar in the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

, he trained in the trading house established by cousins James Collett (1655–1727) and Peder Leuch (1692–1746) in Christiania (now Oslo). He eventually became the largest

timber trade There are multiple market layers for wood products. Each country has its own domestic market that may be connected to a regional or global market. Timber supply to domestic markets in many tropical forest countries is largely provided by informal lo ...

r in Christiania. He was also quite active in shipping. He is commonly associated with his residence,

Paléet Paléet was a monumental single storey townhouse located in the Norwegian capital Oslo that for a long time functioned as a residence for the Norwegian royalty. History Construction The building was constructed between the years 1744-45 and was ...

Manor near

Bjørvika Bjørvika is a neighborhood in the Sentrum borough of Oslo, Norway. The area is an inlet in the inner Oslofjord, situated between Gamlebyen and Akershus Fortress. It serves as an outlet for the river Akerselva. Since the 2000s, it has been ...

, which later was used as a Royal residence.

Personal life

He was married to Karen Elieson (1723–1806). They were the parents of four sons:

Bernt Anker Bernt Anker (22 November 1746 – 21 April 1805) was a Norwegian merchant, chamberlain and playwright who became the wealthiest person in Norway during his lifetime. Born in Christiania (later Oslo), he amassed his fortune primarily throu ...

who was a merchant and owner of

Frogner Manor Frogner Manor (''Frogner Hovedgård'') is a manor house and former Estate (land), estate in today's borough of Frogner in Oslo, Norway. The estate comprised most of the modern borough of Frogner, which has been named after the estate, and Frog ...

Peder Anker Peder Anker (8 December 1749 – 10 December 1824) was a prominent Norwegian landowner, businessman and politician. He served as the first prime minister of Norway from 1814 until 1822. Biography Peder Anker was a member of a Danish-Norweg ...

who became

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway (, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet of Norway, Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government departme ...

and was owner of Bogstad Manor, as well as Iver (1745–1772) and Jess (1753–1798).

References

1711 births 1765 deaths People from Søndre Land Norwegian merchants 18th-century Norwegian businesspeople Merchants from Denmark–Norway {{norway-business-bio-stub