Johan Leonhard Fix (28 December 1735 - 2 February 1807) was a German-Danish merchant who served as Governor of Frederiknagore in

Danish India Danish India () was the name given to the forts and Factory (trading post), factories of Denmark (Denmark–Norway before 1814) in the Indian subcontinent, forming part of the Danish overseas colonies. Denmark–Norway held colonial possessions ...

. He moved to

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 1787 where he served as director of the

Danish Asiatic Company Danish Asiatic Company (Danish language, Danish: Asiatisk Kompagni) was a Denmark-Norway, Danish trading company established in 1730 to revive Danish-Norwegian trade on the Danish East Indies and China following the closure of the Danish East Ind ...

from 1791 to 1805. He was the third largest contributor to the rebuilding of

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace (, ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament (), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Also ...

after the first Christiansborg Palace was destroyed in a fire in 1804.

Early life

Fix was born on 28 December 1735 in

Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...

near Frankfurt. His father was a weaver. The family belonged to the Dutch Reformed church.

Years in India

Fix travelled to

on foot where he was employed as bookkeeper by the

in 1867 and travelled to Trankebar and the Bengal on board the ship ''CRON PRINCEN AF DANEMARK''. Hermann Abbestée wrote an angry letter about Fix's conduct in 1770. In 1771 he married Anthonetta Maria Henckel in Frederiksnagore. She was the widow of Hermann Fredericks Henckel, a Danish Asiatic Company merchant and former Oberhoved of Frederiksnagore. In 1776, he was fired from the Danish Asiatic Company. Then, in a partnership with John Fenwick, he ran a private trading house with a fleet of up to five ships. The partnership ended in court after disagreements. In 1783, he partnered with Melchoir La Beaume, a Frenchman based in Tranquebar. The partnership ended in court after disagreements.

Late life in Denmark

* In 1787, Fix returned to Copenhagen. In 1789 he purchased the property at

Amaliegade 13 Amaliegade 13 is a historic property in the Frederiksstaden, Frederiksstaden Quarter of central Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally Tenement, tenement houses, it was later converted into the city home of count Frederik Christian Danneskiold-Samsøe. ...

. He also owned Folehavegård at

Hørsholm Hørsholm () is an urban area on the Øresund coast approximately north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality. Hørsholm proper ...

from 1789 to 1791. * In 1791 he was elected Director of the Danish Asiatic Company. He kept the post until 1805. * In 1794, he made a 2000

Danish rigsdaler The rigsdaler was the name of several currencies used in Denmark until 1875. The similarly named Reichsthaler, riksdaler and rijksdaalder were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively. These currencies were of ...

donation for the rebuilding of

. * In 1798, he was involved in a court case with Duntzfelt about a disagreement about taxation due to origin of a set of nanquin textiles. * He died on 2 February 1807 and is buried at

Assistens Cemetery An Assistens Cemetery () is a cemetery that functions as an expansion of another, older cemetery often in relation to a city church. Already by the end of the 17th century, Danish authorities deemed that the conditions for inner-city cemeteries we ...

References

External links

Johan Leonhard Fix
at geni.com
Video
about Johan Leonhard Fix {{DEFAULTSORT:Fix, Johan Leonhard 18th-century Danish businesspeople Governors of Danish India Directors of the Danish Asiatic Company Danish merchants Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire to Denmark–Norway Danish Calvinist and Reformed Christians People from Hesse-Nassau 1735 births 1807 deaths 1770s in Danish India Merchants from Denmark–Norway

Early life

Years in India

Late life in Denmark

Further reading

References

External links