Anton Carl Pedersen Illum (5 July 1863 - 20 July 1938) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

businessman who founded the Illum Department Store on Amagertorv in Copenhagen.

Early life and education

Illum was born on 5 July 1863 in Dyvskrog at

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 ...

on the island of Funen, the son of ship builder Peter Hansen Pedersen (I.) (1834–77) and Ane Kirstine Rasmussen (1834–1914). He changed his name from Pedersen to Illum on 6 November 1888. The family moved to Vejle. Illum was apprenticed to V. Wegener in his new home town and then worked for a few years at Frølund & Wittrup in Horsens. He then continued to Hamburg to work for Wm. Klöpper. He spent almost six years in the firm, although most of the time as a travelling salesman in Denmark.

Career

On 3 March 1891, Illum opened a small shop at Østergade 55 in Copenhagen. His business grew rapidly, assisted by substantial credits from his old employer, which compensated for his very small initial capital. In 1899, he had grown out of space and moved his business to larger premises on the other side of the street and would continue to expand into successive properties over the following years. These included Efterslægtselskabets Skole, which was acquired in 1911. In 1914, the existing space was demolished to make way for a new department store. On 1 January 1920, the company was converted into a family-owned limited company ('' aktieselskab''), but Illum remained in control of the operations until his death. In 1913, Illum established a pension scheme for his employees which became a model for similar initiatives in other large enterprises. One of his sons, Svend Illum (1899–1978), was managing director of the company from 1931 to 1969.

Personal life

On 23 September 1892, Illum married Karen Marie Andersen (8 December 1868 - 11 October 1939), a daughter of merchant Christian A Andersen (1839–89) and Caroline Severine Thøgersen (1842–73), in Roskilde. The couple had three daughters and one son. Illum constructed a villa at Hveensvej 6 in

Vedbæk Vedbæk is a wealthy suburban neighbourhood on the coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It belongs to Rudersdal Municipality and has merged with the town of Hørsholm to the north. The area has been inhabited for at least 7,000 years, as evidenced ...

to designs by the architect Carl Brummer in 1908–12. The house has been demolished but the gardener's house and a dovecote has survived at Sofievej 1. A portrait of Illum was painted by

Bertha Wegmann Bertha Wegmann (1847–1926) was a Danish portrait painter of German ancestry. She was the first woman to hold a chair at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Life When Bertha Wegmann was five years old, her family moved to Copenhagen, where her ...

in 1916 and another one was painted by Carl Forup in 1934.

Jens Jacob Bregne Jens may refer to: * Jens (given name), a list of people with the name * Jens (surname), a list of people * Jens, Switzerland, a municipality * 1719 Jens, an asteroid See also * Jensen (disambiguation) Jensen may refer to: People *Jensen (su ...

also created a bust of him. He died on 20 April 1938, on board the '' RMS Empress of Britain'', between

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and Honolulu. He is buried in Vedbæk Cemetery.

References

External links

Anton Carl Illum
at geni.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Illum, Anton Carl Pedersen 19th-century Danish businesspeople 20th-century Danish businesspeople Danish businesspeople in retailing Danish company founders People from Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality Businesspeople from Copenhagen 1863 births 1938 deaths People who died at sea