Conrad Alexander Fabritius (8 August 1731 - 13 September 1805), ennobled by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

under the name

Fabritius de Tengnagel Fabritius de Tengnagel is a Danish nobility, Danish and Norwegian nobility, Norwegian noble family. History The family originated from Johannes Fabritius (1620–71) of Brandenburg. The genus immigrated to Denmark with his son Herman Fabritius (1 ...

in 1778, 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 ...

merchant, shipowner and patron of the arts. He owned

Enrum Enrum is a listed mansion on Strandvejen in Vedbæk, Rudersdal Municipality, some 20 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The history of the property dates back to 1731 but the current main building was built in the 1860s to a design by Joha ...

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 ...

from 1776.

Early life and education

Conrad Fabritius was born on 8 August 1731 in

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 ...

, the son of

Michael Fabritius Michael Fabritius (2 May 1697 – 13 November 1746) was a Danish merchant, shipowner and shipbuilder. Early life and education Michael Fabritius was born in Copenhagen on 12 May 1697. His parents, wine merchant Herman Fabritius (1667-1729) an ...

(1697-1746) and Anna Maria Köster (1705–75). His father was a co-founder of Fabritius & Wewer, a leading trading house in Copenhagen, but died when Conrad Fabritius was just 15 years old. His mother was later married to her late husband's business partner,

Johan Friederich Wewer Johan Friederich Wewer (8 March 1699 – 9 May 1759) was a Danish merchant and ship-owner. He was a co-founder of Fabritius & Wewer and was also active in the Danish West India Company, Danish Asia Company, Danish Africa Company and the Royal Green ...

, who continued Fabritius & Wewer. Conrad Fabritius and his brother Michael Fabritius were both educated in the company.

Career

Conrad Alexander Fabritius de Tengnagel by Luigi di Giuseppe Grossi

Conrad and Michael Fabritius continued Fabritius & Wewer after Wewer 's death. In 1772, Fabritius de Tengnagel was elected as one of the directors of the

Danish Asia Company Danish Asiatic Company (Danish: Asiatisk Kompagni) was a Danish trading company established in 1730 to revive Danish trade on the Danish East Indies and China following the closure of the Danish East India Company. It was granted a 40-year monopo ...

. The company had just lost its monopoly on trade on the far east and he also traded on India with his own fleet of merchant ships. He resigned from his position as director of the Danish Asia Company in 1776 after his double role had resulted in criticism from the other participants in the enterprise but was again elected as director in 1778. Conrad and Michael Fabritius were on 4 May that same year ennobled by letters patent under the name Fabritius de Tengnagel. In 1784, he was again forced to resign in connection with a scandal where a group of high-ranking employees had embezzled the company for close to DKK 500,000. The other shareholders in the company were outraged and wanted the directors to be held accountable. In the end Fabritius de Tengnagel had to pay 10,000

Danish rigsdaler The rigsdaler was the name of several currencies used in Denmark until 1875. The similarly named Reichsthaler, riksdaler and rijksdaalder were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively. These currencies were ofte ...

in compensation to the company.

Personal life

Jens Juel - Debora Fabritius de Tengnagel, née Cloppenburg - KMS254 - Statens Museum for Kunst

Fabritius de Tengnagel married Debora Kloppenburg (29 June 1739 - 2 November 1814), a daughter of Peter Kloppenburg and Johanne Marie van Laban-Ehelieden, on 27 April 1758 in

Vreeland Vreeland () is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It was a part of the former municipality of Loenen. Since 2011 it has been part of the new formed municipality of Stichtse Vecht. It is located on the river Vecht, about 2 km north o ...

. They had two sons, Michael Peter Fabritius de Tengnagel (1 March 1759 – 1810) and Carl Frederik Fabritius de Tengnagel (11 April 1762 – 7 February 1824). The family lived at

Holmens Kanal Holmens Kanal is a short street in central Copenhagen. Part of the main thoroughfare of the city centre, it extends from Kongens Nytorv for one block to a junction with a statue of Niels Juel where it turns right towards Holmens Bro while the thro ...

2–4 in 1770 – 1772, then at

Amaliegade Amaliegade is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which makes up the longer of the two axes on which the Rococo district Frederiksstaden is centred. Amaliegade extends from Sankt Annæ Plads to Esplanaden, passing through the central plaza o ...

2 in 1773 – 1775 and finally at

Slotsholmsgade Slotsholmsgade (literally "Slotsholm Street") is a street which runs along the rear side of Børsen on Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Located next to the Danish parliament building Christiansborg, most of the buildings in the street h ...

12 in 1776 – 1805. All three buildings have later been demolished. In 1775, Fabritius de Tengnagel inherited the country house

. He undertook a comprehensive renovation of the house and created a number of monuments and other features in the garden, including columns, artificial ponds and a miniature fortification with cannons that saluted at festive occasions. He died on 13 September 1805 in Copenhagen and is buried at the

Cemetery of Holmen Holmen Cemetery (Danish: Holmens Kirkegård) is the oldest cemetery still in use in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first located next to the naval Church of Holmen in the city centre but relocated to its current site on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé in t ...

References

External links

Conrad Alexander Fabritius-Tengnagel
at geni.com
Conrad Alexander Fabritius de Tengnagel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabritius de Tengnagel, Conrad 1731 births 1795 deaths 18th-century Danish businesspeople Danish Asiatic Company people Danish businesspeople in shipping Businesspeople from Copenhagen Burials at Holmen Cemetery