Edward Tesdorpf (7 September 1817 – 2 May 1889), was a German-Danish landowner, agricultural pioneer and sugar manufacturer. He became the owner of ten estates; many were located in the

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

area where he resided at Orupgaard near

Nykøbing Falster Nykøbing Falster (; originally named Nykøbing) is a city on the island of Falster in southern Denmark. It has a population of 16,682 (1 January 2025). Including the satellite town Sundby (Lolland), Sundby on the Lolland side, with a populatio ...

, where he founded a sugar factory in 1884. Several of the estates are still owned by his descendants, including Gjedsergaard and Pandebjerg on Falster.

Early life

Tesdorpf was born into a wealthy family in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

as the son of merchant Oberalter Friedrich Jacob Tesdorgph (1781–1862) og Dorothea Rücker (1789–1844).

Career

He came to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

where he acquired Orupgård on the island of

in 1840. He later acquired many other large properties, including Pandebjerg (1878) on Falster and Sædlingegård (1871) on Lolland, until he finally owned ten estates across Denmark with a total area of . He was a dynamic and innovative farmer, introducing a style of farming which was widely recognized as a model to be emulated. He thoroughly drained and fertilized the land, pioneered the use of steam power and new machinery in Danish agriculture, brought in new breeds of cattle and built a dairy, achieving a five-fold increase in production by 1890."Orupgaards historie"
, Orupgaard Gods. Retrieved 22 November 2012."Orupgård"
Lolland-Falsters Herregårde. Retrieved 22 November 2012. He established Nykøbing Falster Sugar Factory in

in 1884. He founded Nykøbing Falster Sukkerfabrik in

in 1884.

Personal life

Tesdorpf died at Orupgaard in 1889. He is buried at Idstrup Cemetery on Falster. He was married to Mary née Büsch (1820–1875). They had the sons Frederik Tesdorpf and Adolph Tesdorpf and the daughter Ida Charlotte Sophie Tesdorph.

Titles and honours

Tesdorpf was one of the presidents of the Royal Danish Agricultural Society from 1860 to 1888. He was appointed an honorary member of the organisation when he retired from the post and was awarded its gold medal as the first recipient in 36 years. He was also an honorary member of the

Royal Agricultural Society of England The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) promotes the scientific development of English agriculture. It was established in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science" and was known as the English Agricultural Society until it received i ...

. Tesdorpf was appointed an in 1860, in 1885 and in 1888. He was honored with the Commander 2nd Class in the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

in 1872 and with the Commander 1st Class in 1887. Danish agricultural organisations commissioned a statue of him from

Theobald Stein Theobald Stein (7 February 1829 – 16 November 1901) was a Danish sculptor. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and served as its director from 1883 to 1886. Among his most well-known works are the Niels Juel statue ...

after his death. It was installed in the gardens of the Royal Danish Agricultural College in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

in 1893. It has later been moved to Tesdorpfsvej which is named after him. Nykøbing Falster is also home to a memorial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tesdorpf, Edward 1817 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Danish landowners German emigrants to Denmark Businesspeople from Hamburg People from Guldborgsund Municipality People from Lolland 19th-century Danish farmers