Albert Heinrich Riise (11 September 1810 – 18 October 1882), often referred to as A. H. Riise, was a Danish
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
, merchant and
manufacturer
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...
of rum on
Saint Thomas in the
Danish West Indies
The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas ...
. A brand of rum is still named
A.H. Riise after him. Late in his life he returned to Denmark, where
Sankt Thomas Plads (St. Thomas Square) in the
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...
district of
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
is named after his former country house. He was the father of photographer
Frederik Riise
Frederik Riise (8 December 1863 – 11 January 1933) was a Danish photographer and exhibition curator. He was a noted portrait photographer and is also remembered for his numerous photographs of buildings, streets and monuments in Copenhagen ...
.
Early life and education
Riise was the son of skipper and merchant Jens Christian Riise (1773-1814) and wife Margrethe Elisabeth Krabbe (1779-1869). The father died at sea when his ship accidentally perished a storm. After schooling, Albert was apprenticed at the pharmacist in Ærøskøbing and from 1825 to 1830 he continued at the pharmacist in
Fåborg
Faaborg or Fåborg () is an old port town located on Faaborg Fjord in Faaborg-Midtfyn municipality on the island of Funen in Denmark. By road, Faaborg is located southwest of Odense, west-northwest of Svendborg, and roughly southeast of Mid ...
. He then traveled to
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, where he graduated in 1832. While still studying
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
and
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
, he worked at various pharmacies in the capital at the same time.
Pharmacist on St. Thomas
A long-cherished desire to get to the
West Indies was fulfilled in 1838 when he managed to get the
privilege
Privilege may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Privilege'' (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins
* ''Privilege'' (Ivor Cutler album), 1983
* ''Privilege'' (Television Personalities album), 1990
* ''Privilege (Abridged)'', an alb ...
as a pharmacist in the
Danish West Indies
The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas ...
. Upon arrival in
Saint Thomas, he at first worked in a so-called doctor stall, driven by several doctors. The following year he established his own pharmacy in partnership with a doctor. In 1843, he was able to buy out the partner, so he became the sole owner of the pharmacy. It went well for Riise, the business grew, he travelled to the
United States and
Trinidad among others.
Equipped with a large stock of all kinds of goods, especially pharmaceutical products, St. Thomas Pharmacy became known throughout the surrounding Caribbean islands as the place where anything one might need for any household was to be obtained.
Riise had a lively interest in
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
and with utilized Caribbean exotic plants and animal life for the preparation of pharmaceutical, cosmetic and alcoholic products.
He collected a great deal of
herpetological
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning " reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and r ...
and other zoological specimens, which were sent to Copenhagen and other European museums. The Danish zoologists
Johannes Theodor Reinhardt and
Christian Frederik Lütken
Christian Frederik Lütken (; 7 October 1827, in Sorø – 6 February 1901), was a Denmark, Danish zoologist and naturalist.
In 1852, he resigned his commission as a lieutenant with the Danish army, and earned his master's degree in sciences the ...
were preparing a great monograph on the amphibians and reptiles of the Danish West Indies and the wider Caribbean, much of it based on the extensive collections of Riise, unfortunately for them however, the young American
Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ...
found a number of Riise's (he thought the man was called Rüse) specimens from the Danish West Indies of the species that they were in the process of describing which had been sent to America, and rushed to describe them for posterity himself, publishing his work in 1862 a week or two earlier than them, which necessitated a rash of last minute changes to their manuscript before it could be brought to the printers.
Manufacturer of rum
Among other things Riise's Bay Rum (a
bay rum is rum scented with oil of ''
Pimenta racemosa
''Pimenta racemosa'' is a species of plant in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae) that is native to the Caribbean region. Common names include West Indian bay tree, bay rum tree, and ciliment. It is used in cooking and an essential oil is distilled t ...
'') was strongly instrumental in Riise's later prosperity. Riise was also successful in the distillation and sale of
bitters from the
West Indies, which in the old days were used as a medicine for stomach ills and other hardships. Riise had great success with his West Indies rum, which was exported to several continents. Riise's rum was especially popular in the motherland of Denmark.
His rum has been marketed under various trademarks including Old St. Croix Brand, Riise's Guava rum and A.H. Riise rum. A series of rum from the Caribbean attributed to Riise is still marketed by
Dansk-Vestindisk Rom Kompagni.
A company exploiting one of these trademarks was awarded a medal at the
World's Columbian Exposition in
Chicago in 1893, after his death.
Return to Denmark
When there were
epidemics
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics of infectious d ...
of
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
,
yellow fever, and
smallpox in 1868, the family decided to travel to Denmark for a year. However, when the year was over, they decided to stay. The pharmacy on St. Thomas was handed over to an assistant who married one of Riise's daughters. A son of this connection later became a pharmacist in Ærøskøbing.
Albert Riise bought a villa at
Frederiksberg Allé
Frederiksberg Allé is a tree-lined avenue which runs through the southernmost part of the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects Vesterbrogade at Værnedamsvej to Frederiksberg Runddel in front of the main entrance to Frederik ...
, which he named
Sankt Thomas. When the villa was sold after Riise's death in 1882, it was transformed into an amusement park called St. Thomas.
In addition, Albert Riise was director of the 'Bank of St. Thomas', and was appointed
knight of Dannebrog, knight of the Swedish
Order of Vasa, in 1868 for and in 1878 for
Etatsråd.
He is buried at
Solbjerg Park Cemetery
Solbjerg Park Cemetery ( da, Solbjerg Parkkirkegård) Is a 19-hectare cemetery in Frederiksberg in the western outskirts of inner Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1865, it is one of three cemeteries in Frederiksberg Municipality
Frederiksberg Ko ...
. A commemorative plaque has been set for him at his birthplace in
Ærøskøbing
Ærøskøbing () is a town in central Denmark, located in Ærø Municipality on the island of Ærø. The suffix - købing means a trade town in the languages that derive from Old Norse.
Ærøskøbing's houses and streets are delicately restore ...
.
Personal life
On January 27, 1842 in
Frederiksted
Frederiksted is both the town and one of the two administrative districts of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is a grid-planned city, designed by surveyor Jens Beckfor, originally to 14x14 blocks but built 7x7 to enhance the island commerce in ...
on
St. Croix, he married Henriette Marie Worm (1821 - 1889). The couple had 13 children, including photographer
Frederik Riise
Frederik Riise (8 December 1863 – 11 January 1933) was a Danish photographer and exhibition curator. He was a noted portrait photographer and is also remembered for his numerous photographs of buildings, streets and monuments in Copenhagen ...
and pharmacist
Valdemar Riise who was the proprietor of the pharmacy after him.
References
External links
Slægtsforskning på ÆrøSourceSource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riise, A.H.
1810 births
1882 deaths
Danish pharmacists
Danish drink distillers
Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog
People from Ærø Municipality
People from the Danish West Indies