Adam Severin Hiorth (16 December 1816 – 20 December 1871) was a Norwegian merchant and industrial pioneer.

Personal life

Hiorth was born in

Drøbak Drøbak is a List of cities in Norway, town and the centre of the municipality of Frogn, in Viken county, Norway. The city is located along the Oslofjord, and has 13,409 inhabitants. History Drøbak and Frogn was established as a parish on its o ...

as a son of shipmaster Fredrik Wilhelm Hiorth (1776–1844) and Louise Caroline Brodersen (1776–1860s). He died in

Aker Aker may refer to: Places * Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway * Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Aker Br ...

in 1871. He married Anne Sofie Sommerfelt (1824–1898) in March 1849 in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

. She was a daughter of priest and botanist Søren Christian Sommerfeldt (1794–1838), and thus a sister of Christian Sommerfelt and Karl Linné Sommerfeldt. He was an uncle of engineer

Fredrik Hiorth Fredrik Wilhelm Louis Hiorth (February 4, 1851 – January 1, 1923) was a Norwegian engineer and industrialist. Early life and family Hiorth was born in Aker. He was the son of the sheriff there, Hans Jensenius Hiorth (1808–1902), and his wife ...

and the grandfather of painter

Agnes Hiorth Agnes Hiorth (5 May 1899 – 30 November 1984) was a Norwegian painter. Her art was characterized by impressionistic broad brush and harmoniously palette of landscapes, as well as a wide range of cultivated and accurate portraits. Biography Agn ...

. A son of Adam Hiorth married Giggi Sommerfelt, a daughter of dean Halfdan Einar Sommerfelt and granddaughter of Hiorth's business partner

Ole Gjerdrum Ole Eliassøn Gjerdrum (22 April 1785 – 29 January 1858) was a Norwegian jurist, civil servant and businessperson. Career He was born in Stange. He was a clerk for the district stipendiary magistrate until 1811. He then worked in Copenhagen and ...

Career

Hiorth finished school at 14, and then started working as a shop assistant. He was gradually given more responsibilities in the business, and also studied English and French language, and eventually passed the necessary examinations for getting a trading licence. In 1837 he started an agency in groceries and

textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

, and in 1841 he co-founded the association Handelens Venner. He travelled to England to study new industrial technologies, in particular the cotton industry in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Hiorth co-founded the company Nydalens Compagnie in 1845, along with wholesaler

Hans Gulbranson Hans Gulbranson (1787–1868) was a Norwegian businessperson. He was a pioneer in the development of textile industry in Norway in the mid-1800s. Gulbranson was from Modum in Buskerud, Norway. He was a wholesaler in Christiania and was one of ...

, bailiff

and engineer

Oluf Nicolai Roll Oluf Nicolai Roll (25 October 1818 – 12 November 1906) was a Norwegian engineer, architect and politician. He was responsible for the industrial development of the area around the river Akerselva in Christiania, and served as Director General ...

. The group bought rights to waterfalls of the river Akerselva in the valley Nydalen, where they built a cotton mill and later a weaving mill. Nydalens Compagnie developed into the largest textile company in Norway from the 1890s. It has also been said that Nydalens Compagnie, together with Nedre Vøiens Bomuldsspinderie, signalled the beginning of Norway's industrialization. Hiorth also founded

Christiania Mekaniske Væveri __NOTOC__ Christiania may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Christiania Bank, a former Norwegian bank * Christiania Theatre in Oslo, Norway * Christiania Spigerverk, a steel company which was founded in Oslo, Norway, in 1853 * Christiania ...

in 1847, together with Gulbranson, Roll, Peter J. K. Petersen and Iver Olsen.Myhre, 1990: p. 271 In 1857 Hiorth was a co-founder of the association

Akerselvens Brugseierforening Akerselvens Brugseierforening was an industrial association established in 1867 by factories located near Akerselva in Aker and Kristiania, Norway. Its first chairman was Jørgen Meinich, who chaired the association for 25 years. In 1876 the asso ...

, a coordinating body for factories exploiting the waterfalls of the river Akerselva. Hiorth chose to resign as manager for the spinning mill in 1860, but was still a member of the board of directors. He was also a joint owner of other textile factories and of the match factory Jølsens Tændstikfabrik, and ran a trading company that imported

lamp oil Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regis ...

and machinery equipment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiorth, Adam 1816 births 1871 deaths People from Frogn Norwegian company founders