Jacob Liv Borch Sverdrup (8 February 1775 – 15 May 1841) was a Norwegian educator and farmer, known for establishing the first

agricultural school Agricultural education is the systematic and organized teaching, instruction and training (theoretical as well as hands-on, real-world fieldwork-based) available to students, farmers or individuals interested in the science, business and technol ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

Personal life

Sverdrup was born at Laugen manor in the

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...

Nærøy Nærøy or Nærøya may refer to: Places *Nærøya, an island in Nærøysund Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Nærøya (Nordland), an island in Øksnes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Nærøy Municipality, a former municipality i ...

as a son of landowner Peter Jacob Sverdrup (1728–1795) and his wife Hilleborg Margrethe Schultz (1743–1828). He was the brother of

Georg Sverdrup Georg Sverdrup (born Jørgen Sverdrup; 25 April 1770 – 8 December 1850) was a Norwegian statesman, best known as one of the presidents of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll Manor in 1814. He was a member of the Norwegian Parlia ...

. He was also a nephew of

Jørgen Jørgensen Sverdrup Jørgen is a Danish, Norwegian, and Faroese masculine given name cognate to George People with the given name Jørgen * Jørgen Aall (1771–1833), Norwegian ship-owner and politician * Jørgen Andersen (1886–1973), Norwegian gymnast * Jørgen ...

. He was married twice. From August 1801 he was married to Gundelle Birgitte Jean, who died in December 1820). In March 1826 he married Nicoline Schjelderup (1789–1840). From the first marriage he had the sons Harald Ulrik Sverdrup and

Johan Sverdrup Johan Sverdrup (30 July 1816 – 17 February 1892) was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party. He was the first prime minister of Norway after the introduction of parliamentarism. Sverdrup was prime minister from 1884 to 1889. Early year ...

. The latter served as

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 ...

from 1884 to 1889. Through Harald Ulrik Sverdrup he was the grandfather of Jakob Sverdrup, Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, Jr,

and

Edvard Sverdrup Johan Edvard Sverdrup (22 June 1861 – 21 January 1923) was a Norwegian educator, author and church leader. Sverdrup was one of the key theologians in the Church of Norway in the first few decades of the 1900s. Biography Sverdrup was born in Ba ...

. Through his daughter Livia Sverdrup he was a grandfather of Jonas Smitt,

Jakob Sverdrup Smitt Jacob Sverdrup Smitt (6 January 1835 – 6 June 1889) was a Norwegian bishop and politician. Career Smitt was born in Land (present-day Nordre Land Municipality), Norway. He was the son of the dean Anton Elias Smitt (1805–1875) and Livia Sv ...

and Livius Smitt. He was also a great-grandfather of Jakob Sverdrup,

Georg Johan Sverdrup Georg Johan Sverdrup (January 26, 1885 – November 4, 1951) was a professor of the history of religion. Life and family Sverdrup was born in Stockholm; he was the son of the bishop and politician Jakob Sverdrup and the brother of the Germanic p ...

, Harald Sverdrup and

Leif Sverdrup Leif Johan Sverdrup CBE (11 January 1898 – 2 January 1976) was a Norwegian-born American civil engineer and general with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his service in the Southwest ...

Career

The son of landowners, Sverdrup embarked on an academic career. After attending school in Throndhjem from 1792, he enrolled at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

in 1794. He mainly studied

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, but also language and history. He worked as a private tutor and teacher in Denmark after studying, but returned to Norway in 1807, the same year as the

Gunboat War The Gunboat War (, , Swedish: ''Kanonbåtskriget''; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and Great Britain supported by Sweden during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing sm ...

broke out. While working as headmaster in

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production and fo ...

, he practiced

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

on the school property. Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg, who was County Governor, hired him as manager

Jarlsberg Manor Jarlsberg Hovedgård Jarlsberg Manor (Norwegian: Jarlsberg Hovedgård) is a manor located about northwest of the centre of the town of Tønsberg in Tønsberg Municipality, Vestfold county, Norway. It has traditionally been the residence of members ...

in 1812. In addition to horticultural and agricultural improvements at Jarlsberg, Sverdrup set

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

. In 1815 a cheese factory was established. The name Jarlsberg was later used for

Jarlsberg cheese Jarlsberg ( , ) is a Norwegian mild Swiss-type cheese made from cow's milk. It originates in the former countship of Jarlsberg and is named after Jarlsberg Manor. Besides Norway, the cheese is also produced in Ireland and in the U.S. state of ...

, which was first developed by Anders Larsen Bakke in the second half of the eighteenth century, and got its current design in 1956. In 1825 Sverdrup left Jarlsberg, and bought the farm ''Nedre Semb'' in Borre. In the same year he established an

at this farm, which is recognized as the first of its kind in

. A

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

and a tool shed were raised as well. The school was not attended chiefly by sons of proprietors, rather by sons of farmers. The theoretical aspect of the education was downplayed in favor of the practical. Nonetheless, Sverdrup also monitored European academic discussions in his field, especially the writings of

Albrecht Thaer Albrecht Daniel Thaer (; 14 May 1752 – 26 October 1828) was a German agronomist and a supporter of the humus theory for plant nutrition. Biography Family and early life Albrecht Daniel Thaer was born in Celle, a neat little town in Hanov ...

. Sverdrup published several books, contributed to newspapers and edited the magazines ''Magazin for Landmanden'' from 1828 to 1832 and ''Den erfarne Landmand'' from 1837 to 1839. From 1835 to 1840 he was employed by Georg Sverdrup's brother-in-law as manager of Fritzøe Works. His son Peter Jacob continued his work, but the funding for Sem Agricultural School was cut by the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

in 1836. However, other agricultural schools soon appeared, including schools in Sweden (1834) and Denmark (1837). The

Norwegian College of Agriculture The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Norway. It is located in Akershus county and has around 7,700 students. History The institution was established in 1859 as the Higher Agricultural Coll ...

followed in 1854. Sverdrup died in May 1841 in

Larvik Municipality Larvik () is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. Other main population centres in the municipality include the ...

. A bust of Jacob Liv Borch Sverdrup was raised at the Norwegian College of Agriculture in 1925.

References

External links

Family genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sverdrup, Jacob Liv Borch 1775 births 1841 deaths People from Nærøy Norwegian educators Norwegian farmers University of Copenhagen alumni Norwegian expatriates in Denmark