Peter Christian Knudtzon (19 March 1789–17 November 1864) was a Danish businessman and

ship-owner A shipowner, ship owner or ship-owner is the owner of a ship. They can be merchant vessels involved in the sea transport, shipping industry or non commercially owned. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and expl ...

. He was one of the largest traders in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in the middle of the 19th century. He owned Amaliegade 14 in Copenhagen. He was the father of Governor of the Bank of Denmark .

Early life and family background

Knudtzon was born on 19 March 1789 in

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, county. The admin ...

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 and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, the son of merchant Nicolay Heinrich Knudtzon (1751–1842) and Janicke Fasting (1762–1848). His father was one of the town's leading merchants. His paternal uncle,

Hans Carl Knudtzon Hans Carl Knudtzon (29 January 175116 December 1823) was a Norwegian merchant, ship-owner and politician. Born in the north of Germany to a mercantile family, he travelled to Trondheim, Norway, where he had success in the trading business. He was ...

, was also a successful merchant. Knudtzon was raised in Slesvig, from which his father had emigrated to Norway in 1780. After moving 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 ...

at the age of 16, he initially worked for J. J. Holbech.

Career

In 1810, Knudtzon started his own business. He engaged in a number of speculative investments, especially on the property market in Copenhagen, with considerable success. In 1814, Knudtzon and two brothers-in-law took over his father-in-law's trading business in Iceland. The turbulent times during the war years of 1807 to 1814 brought him many difficulties, bringing him close to bankruptcy in 1818 and 1820, but both times with quick comebacks. In the 1830s, he completely dominated trade on the southern part of the island. A fleet of smaller fishing vessels picked up salt in Spain and returned with

dried and salted cod Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export of ...

for the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

market. In 1842, he was hit a third time by economic difficulties but again managed to recover fairly quickly. In 1834 he founded Icelands first and Oldest Bakery Bernhöftsbakari In 1855, P. C. Knudtzon & Søn's fleet consisted of the brigs ''Wilhelmine'' and ''Johanne'', the

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

s ''Harriet'', ''Louise'', ''Lucinde'' and ''Marie'', the

galleass A galleass was a warship that combined the sails and armament of a galleon or carrack with the maneuverability of the oared galley. While never quite matching up to the full expectations for its design, the galleass nevertheless remained in us ...

''Emmy'', and the yachts ''Anna Helena'', ''Cathinca'', ''Christiansgave'', ''Kis'' and'' Orøven.''

Politics and public offices

In 1824, Knudtzon was elected to the Council of 32 Men. In the 1830s, he was elected to the Roskilde Constituent Assembly in the first election period (1835–1840). From 1847 to 1848, he was a member of the Grossist Society's committee. In 1831, he was instrumental in establishing the Grossist Society's relief fund (), together with his friend Christian Rønnenkamp and the firm Hambro & Søn.

Personal life

Knudtzon married Marie Thomsen (1 October 1788–25 July 1831) on 24 June 1810. She was daughter of merchant Jess Thomsen (1734–1816) and Engel Knutzen (c. 1748–1829). They had one son, Jes Nicolai Knudtzon (1811–1840). Following the death of his first wife on 13 November 1839, Knudtzon married Lucinde Gotschalk (17 March 1818–17 December 1888) in St. Peter's Church in Copenhagen. She was the daughter of merchant Frederik (Friedrich) Gotschalk (1786–1869) and Marie Frederikke Kierulf (1791–1870). From 1757, Knudtzon was the owner of the property at Amaliegade 14 in Copenhagen. He died on 17 November 1864 and is buried in the

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 ...

. He was survived by the following children: * Nicolay Henrich Knudtzon (31 July 1841–18 July 1925) * Frederik Gotschalk Knudtzon (11 January 1843–14 May 1917) * Søren Christian Knudtzon (16 July 1844–12 August 1913) * Jørgen Bailli Knudtzon (15 September 1847–29 March 1909) * Bertha Knudtzon (24 February 1850–4 May 1923) * Marie Lucinde Knudtzon (26 October 1851–28 April 1926) * Harriet Knudtzon (16 February 1855–24 May 1927), married dermatologist Ludvig Nielsen. * Benedicte Knudtzon (23 September 1856–14 May 1940), married zoologist Jonas Collin.

References

External links

Ships

Nikolai Henrik Knudtzon

Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudtzon, Peter Christian 19th-century Danish businesspeople Danish businesspeople in shipping Economic history of Iceland Danish shipping company founders 1789 births 1864 deaths People from Kristiansund