Carl Johan Korsman (14 June 1829 — 24 May 1907) was a Finnish

shipowner A ship-owner is the owner of a merchant vessel (commercial ship) and is involved in the shipping industry. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain frei ...

and

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

. Korsman joined in the military in 1846; he served in

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

and resigned in 1868 as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In 1869 Korsman started

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

business first in coastal shipping, later in liner shipping operating from

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. He became a significant operator in 1878 when he started winter season shipping between

Hanko Hanko may refer to People *August Hanko (military personnel), August Hanko, German First World War flying ace Places *Hanko, Finland, town and municipality *Hanko Peninsula, Finland *Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway *The asteroid ...

and Stockholm. Korsman laid the basis to the Finnish winter season shipping together with

August Alexander Granroth. Korsman founded also Vätti techno-chemical factory and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

company ''Åbo Mekaniska Verkstads Ab''. He developed the Hanko

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

the most prominent in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Korsman retired in 1895 and moved to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, where he died in 1907.

Early years

Korsman was born in Pyhämaa,

Finland Proper Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regi ...

. His parents were

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Merikarvia Merikarvia (; sv, Sastmola) is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region. The neighboring municipalities are Isojoki, Kristinestad, Pomarkku, Pori and Siikainen. The municipality has a population of () and it covers an ar ...

Johan Jacob Korsman and Amalia Carolina

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Achander. Korsman studied six years in

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...

trivial school, after which he went to

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

Military career

Korsman started his military career in

Finnish Rifle Battalion Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion ( fi, Henkikaartin 3. Suomen Tarkk’ampujapataljoona, sv, Livgardets 3:e finska skarpskyttebataljon, russian: Лейб-гвардии 3-й стрелковый Финский батальон, Leib-gvardii 3-j str ...

in which he served as junior

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

in 1846–1849, Fähnrich with Portepee in 1849–1851 and ensign in 1851–1852. After this he was relocated to Finnish Grenadier Rifle battalion; he became

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in 1853 and in 1855 he was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. In 1856 Korsman became company commander in Turku Rifle Battalion. He became first staff captain and in 1868 he became

. Korsman left the military in the same year.

Shipping

In 1868 Korsman started trading

firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...

, but already in the following year he moved to a new line of business: Korsman bought a screw-propeller steamer named ''Ahkera'' and started liner shipping between Turku and

Salo Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland **Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostroboth ...

. In the 1870s he expanded from coastal shipping to liner shipping between Turku and

, and cargo shipping in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. Korsman aimed to use the latest technology and to increase the capacity. In 1874 Korsman founded shipping company ''Ångfartygsaktiebolaget Åbo'' to operate between Stockholm and

by steamship ''Åbo'', which was the largest steamship built in Finland until then. A company called ''Finska Transito-ångbåtsaktiebolaget'' had started winter season operation between

and Stockholm in 1876 by 298-tonne ''S/S Express''. Due to unprofitable summer season operation the company

bankrupted Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 1878. The state regarded a year-round operation to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

highly important, and sought for successor for the operation. Korsman saw the potential of steam shipping for wintertime operation, and rented the ship from the state which had

confiscated Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, o ...

it due to outstanding payments. He moved to Hanko and recruited

August Alexander Granroth to master the ship. ''Express'' sailed weekly between Stockholm and Hanko between 15 November and 15 May. Out of total 303 journeys planned during 1878–1889, 242 were successful despite of difficult ice conditions at times. Korsman played with a high risk, because no a marine insurance company agreed giving an insurance to a such operation; on the other hand, the

Grand Duchy A grand duchy is a sovereign state, country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was oft ...

and city of Stockholm supported him financially. During the 1880s the number of passengers grew and in addition to

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

delivery, Korsman exported Finnish

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

and

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

to the Swedish and British market. Korsman and captain Granroth created the basis for the Finnish winter shipping, and Hanko became the centre of it. In 1889 the state organised 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 ...

icebreaker to ease manoeuvring in ice and in the following year the first state-owned icebreaker started in service. Korsman planned to grow his business and buy another ship alongside the ''Express'' which he had earlier purchased from the state, but gave up with the plan due to health reasons. He built a four-floor house in Helsinki, close to South Harbour in 1895.

Other businesses

Korsman was founder and manager of Vätti techno-chemical factory started in 1872. In 1874 he took part at founding

company ''Åbo Mekaniska Verkstads Ab'' and became its manager. During 1880–1890 Korsman was the manager of Hanko

, which developed the most significant spa of Finland during his leadership.

Positions of trust

Korsman took part in many municipal positions of trust both in Turku and Hanko. He was chairman of Hanko

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

in 1890–1891. During 1885–1889 Korsman participated in three committees which aimed developing the Finnish seafaring.

Personal life

In 1854 Korsman married Isabella Charlotta née Ramsell (1832–1907). The couple got 12 children in 1855–1875; ten of them lived until adulthood.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Korsman, Carl Finnish businesspeople Finnish chief executives 1829 births 1907 deaths 19th-century Finnish businesspeople