Carl Reinhold Tersmeden (9 February 1789 – 21 July 1855), was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' and politician. He served as the first chairperson of the first reform meeting in Örebro ( sv, Reformmötena i Örebro).

Early life

Carl Reinhold Tersmeden was born into the

Tersmeden family The Tersmeden family, originally ''tor Smede'', is a noble Swedish family originally from Stade that rose to prominence in the 15th-century with Thomas tor Smede, founder of one of the most prominent trading companies in northern Germany. The fam ...

, at Larsbo, but grew up at the family estate 27 kilometres (43 mi) northeast of

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

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 ...

, and 190 kilometres (305 mi) west of

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 ...

. He was the second of four children to

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a large ...

Jakob Niclas Tersmeden (1745–1822) and

Hedvig Wegelin Hedvig Tersmeden (née Wegelin 31 October 1766 – 18 August 1842) was a Swedish noblewoman, Swedish artists' model, known for being the depicted woman in a painting by Carl Fredrik von Breda named '' Hedvig Wegelin with daughters''. Hedvig Wegelin ...

(1766–1842).

Career

After having advanced as

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

Life Regiment Hussars The Life Regiment Hussars ( sv, Livregementets husarer; designated K 3) is one of the world's oldest regiments still active. The regiment descends directly from units set up by King Gustav I of Sweden (Gustav Vasa) in 1536, when Sweden set ...

in 1807, he was commissioned as cornet in the same year and was three years later promoted to lieutenant there. In 1812, he advanced to ''

'' and in the following year, Tersmeden was appointed head quartermaster of the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

. In 1822, Tersmeden was no longer active as military personnel. Tersmeden was the manager of Larsbo and Saxe in Söderbärke parish,

Kopparberg County Dalarna County ( sv, Dalarnas län) is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden (Svealand). It borders on the counties of Uppsala, Jämtland, Gävleborg, Västmanland, Örebro and Värmland. It also borders on the Norwegian counties of Hedmark ...

, and served as deputy at ''Järnkontoret'' in 1842–1847 and at The Falun School of Mining and Metallurgy in 1844–1847. Tersmeden was member of parliament in 1828–1830, as well as in 1840–1841 and 1844–1845, serving the interests of the nobility in the assembly of the feudal estates of Sweden. In 1849, he became the first chairperson at the first the reform meeting in Örebro, a number of gatherings where the attendees were in favor of a new state administration, including a

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

reform, as well as abolition of the assembly of feudal estates of Sweden. Tersmeden was noted for his great public persona, and for his aim as to abolish the former feudal state administration order.

Personal life

Tersmeden had an interest in history as well as

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 was accordingly interested in the

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

. He was also known to be a heavy subscriber to newsletters and journals from around the world. In 1825, the cost of his subscriptions amounted to 41

Swedish riksdaler The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thaler ...

. He had especially a vivid interest in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and its archaeological history. In the 1820s, Tersmeden built Medinge Manor. The manor house was then inherited by his firstborn son Wilhelm Reinhold Tersmeden. On 21 February 1822 at Österrasta, Fellingsbro parish, Tersmeden married his first cousin Gustava Charlotta Tersmeden (1802–1883), a daughter of Lars Gustaf Tersmeden and Hedvig Elisabeth Schön. They had four children, two of whom survived childhood. Tersmeden died on 21 July 1855, aged 66, at Medinge.

References

Bibliography and further reading

* {{Portalbar, Biography, Politics, Sweden 1789 births 1855 deaths Swedish people of German descent 19th-century Swedish landowners 19th-century Swedish military personnel 19th-century Swedish politicians Swedish nobility Tersmeden family Swedish ironmasters