Moritz Gerson Melchior (22 June 1816 – 19 September 1884) was a Jewish-Danish businessman. He headed the trading house Moses & Søn G. Melchior from 1845. He owned the property at Ploug House at Højbro Plads 21 in

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 ...

as well as the country house Rolighed. Moritz G. Melchior and his wife Dorothea Melchior were some of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

's closest friends in the later part of his life.

Early life and education

Melchior was born into a wealthy Jewish family in

, the son of Gerson Moses Melchior (1771–1845) by his second wife Birgitte (Jette) Melchior née Israel (1792–1855). His father was part of the second generation in the trading house Moses & Søn G. Melchior, founded by Moses Melchior (1736–1817). The family resided at Amagertorv 11. His father had bought the building in c. 1810.

Career

Melchior joined the family firm just after his

Bar Mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

at the age of 13. It had initially specialised in the import of tobacco from the Netherlands and Bremen but later engaged in trade in the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

. Two elder brothers joined the company but died in 1834 and 1843. Moritz G. Melchior joined the company in 1840 and became its sole owner upon his father's death in 1845. His younger brother Moses Melchior became a partner in the company in 1850.

Public life

Melchior was elected to the board of representatives of the Jewish community in Copenhagen and served as its president in 1852–1853. He was also a member of Grosserer-Societetet's governing committee and served as its president from 1873 to 1884. He was a member of the Maritime and Commercial Court () from 1862 to 1883 and of the

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks. ...

from 1851 to 1869. He was elected to the Port Council in 1859 and remained a member even after leaving the city council. He was also involved in reorganizing the Copenhagen Police Force with inspiration from England. Melchior was elected to

Landstinget The Landsting () was the upper house of the Rigsdag, from 1849 until 1953, when the bicameral system was abolished in favour of unicameralism. The Landsting had powers equal to the Folketing, which made the two houses of parliament hard to dis ...

(Parliament) from 1866 to 1874. He was a co-founder of (Free Trade Society) in 1861 but left the organisation fairly early. He was a co-founder of

Privatbanken Carl Frederik Tietgen (19 March 1829 – 19 October 1901) was a Danish financier and industrialist. He played an important role in the industrialisation of Denmark as the founder of numerous prominent Danish companies, many of which are stil ...

in 1857 and served as vice chairman of its board from 1876.

Property

Melchior acquired the building at Højbro Plads 21 in 1855. The building is from 1798 and was designed by

Andreas Hallander Andreas Hallander (13 November 1755 – 3 April 1828) was a Danish master carpenter and architect who made a significant contribution to the city of Copenhagen. Together with the buildings of Johan Martin Quist, his classically styled apartment h ...

. It is now known as the Ploug House after a later owner. Melchior lived with his family in the apartment on the second floor and also operated his company from the complex. Melchior also acquired the country house Rolighed in

Østerbro Østerbro () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located close to present-day ...

in 1858. In 1869–1870, it was subject to a major expansion in

Renaissance Revival style Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

. The building was demolished in 1898.

Personal life

Melchior married (Deiche) Dorothea Henriques (16 February 1823 – 16 February 1885) on 17 June 1846 in the

Synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

in Copenhagen. She was a daughter of broker Ruben Henriques (1771–1846) and (Jeruchine) Josika Melchior (1784–1857). Moritz G. Melchior and Dorothea Melchior had eight children of which four died as infants: * William Melchior (1847–1856) * Johanne Melchior (1848–1911) * Louise Melchior (1849–1935) * Harriet Melchior (1851–1917) * Anna Melchior (1853–1881) * Carl Henriques Melchior (1855–1931) * Emil Melchior (1857–1881) * Thea Melchior (1860–1876)

was a close friend of the family from circa 1859. Andersen stayed with the family from 13 March until 21 May 1870 in their residence on Højbro Plads, where he wrote ''What the Whole Family Said'', and the Melchiors also hosted the celebration of his 70th birthday. He spent his last year at Rolighed where he died on 4 August 1875.

Legacy

Melchiors Plads, located close to Melchior's now demolished country house Rolighed, is named after him. A plaque on Kalkbrænderi Vej 16 commemorates that Hans Christian Andersen died at the site.

References

External links

The Melchior family and Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen's letters to the Melchior family
* {http://www.beitolam.com/2016/02/mb-96-therese-og-martin-ruben-henriques.html Source]
Moritz G. Melchior

Moritz G. Melchior
biography
Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melchior, Moritz G. 1816 births 1884 deaths 19th-century Danish businesspeople 19th-century Copenhagen City Council members Danish businesspeople in shipping Danish merchants Businesspeople from Copenhagen Melchior family