Julius Nicolai Jacobsen (19 May 1829 – 25 December 1894) was a Norwegian businessperson and politician. He founded J. N. Jacobsen & Co. which became one of the country's larger

forest product A forest product is any material derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or fodder for livestock. Wood, by far the dominant product of forests, is used for many purposes, such as wood fuel (e.g. in f ...

companies.

Biography

He was born in the borough of

Strømsø Strømsø is a borough of Drammen, Buskerud, Norway. Strømsø is located at the southern side of the river Drammenselva. Until about 1600, Strømsø was an island surrounded by the Drammenselva, but was later made landfast. In 1728 Strømsø ...

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

, Norway. He was the son of Andreas Jacobsen (1798–1876) and his wife Adelgunda Margaretha Schive (1808–38). His father was a sexton and school teacher. He graduated from the three-year commercial school at Drammen (''Drammens lærde skole'') in 1844. After that, he was employed by A. J. Boger in Christiania (now Oslo). He moved to

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

(then Fredriksstad) in 1848 where he was first employed by Peder Gelertsen & Co.History of Gressvik Church

at Fredrikstad City Encyclopedia. Hosted by ''

Fredriksstad Blad is the biggest local daily newspaper in Fredrikstad, 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 an ...

'' In 1852, Jacobsen started his own wooden shop, based in the village of Græsvig. He became a self-made businessman acquiring other mills and exporting cargo loads to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He settled at the Lykkeberg estate in the parish of Glemmen which he bought in 1855. Through transactions in 1856 and 1859, he amassed a large property at the village of Græsvig on the peninsula of Onsøy outside of Fredrikstad. He founded a sawmill ''Græsvig Brug'' on 1 January 1860, the same day as national sawmill privileges limiting private enterprise were abolished. The sawmill was a catalyst of growth, spurring a significant migration to the district. Græsvig Brugs Skole, a school for children of workers at the sawmill, was founded in 1862. Later followed a town hall in 1866 and Græsvig Church which was consecrated in 1884, but burned in 1915. The company was renamed J. N. Jacobsen & Co. in 1863 when his brother, Johan Fredrik Thorne Jacobsen (1835-1917), entering as a business partner. Jacobsen served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament during the term 1877–1879, representing the constituency of Fredriksstad.Julius Nicolai Jacobsen
– Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD) He was also a member of the city council's executive committee from 1868 to 1894 and served as deputy mayor for some time.
at Fredrikstad City Encyclopedia. Hosted by ''

''. Following his death, J. N. Jacobsen & Co. was transformed to a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

. His brother took over the leadership, together with Julius' son-in-law Julius Christian Juel (1853-1930). The youngest son Andreas Julius Jacobsen (1879- 1967) was involved from 1907. Facing the economic hardships of the time, J. N. Jacobsen & Co. went bankrupt in 1926. The assets were seized and the house at Lykkeberg was sold, the buyer being Fredrikstad municipality. From 1931, Lykkeberg served as central administration offices for Fredrikstad Municipality.

Personal life

In 1858, he married Olivia Fredrikke Bredesen (1841–1879). Jacobsen subsequently ordered the erection of a new house at Lykkeberg, drawn in Gothic style by the nationally known architect Paul Due. The house was finished in 1875. Tragically, Olivia died in 1879 after giving birth to their eighth child. His daughter Elna Andrea Jacobsen (1870–1958) was married to sports official Johan Sverre between 1893 and 1917. Jacobsen was proclaimed Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1882 and Commander of the same order in 1894. The city council named a street in Fredrikstad after him in 1894.

References

External links

Julius Nicolai Jacobsen (1829-1894) (Fredrikstad Museum)

Fredrikstad Municipality Administration Building, Lykkeberg ( Østfold Museum)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobsen, Julius Nicolai 1829 births 1894 deaths Businesspeople from Drammen Politicians from Drammen 19th-century Norwegian businesspeople Norwegian company founders Norwegian industrialists Østfold politicians People from Fredrikstad Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Members of the Storting 1877–1879