Edward Tesdorpf (7 September 1817 – 2 May 1889), was a German-Danish landowner, agricultural pioneer and sugar manufacturer. He became the owner of ten estates many of which were located in the

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

area where he resided at

Orupgaard Orupgaard is a manor house located east of Nykøbing and north of Idestrup on the Danish island of Falster. With a history dating from the 13th century, Orupgaard today manages over of farmland and forest as well as an equestrian facility at B ...

near

Nykøbing Falster Nykøbing Falster (; originally named Nykøbing) is a southern Danish city, seat of the Guldborgsund ''kommune''. It belongs to Region Sjælland. The city lies on Falster, connected by the Frederick IX Bridge over the Guldborgsund (''Guldb ...

where he founded a sugar factory in 1884. Several of the estates are still owned by his descendants, including

Gjedsergaard Gjedsergård is a manor house on the island of Falster in southeastern Denmark. It has been owned by members of the Tesdorpf family since 1847. The main building and the parallel building Kavalerfløjen are from 1768 and were listed on the Danish ...

and

Pandebjerg Pandebjerg is a manor house on the island of Falster in southeastern Denmark. It has been owned by members of the Tesdorpf family since 1878. The current main building is from 1900. History Pandebjerg was established when Peder Estrup divided his ...

on Falster.

Early life

Tesdorpf was born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

as the son of a wealthy merchant.

Career

He came to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

where he acquired

Orupgård Orupgaard is a manor house located east of Nykøbing and north of Idestrup on the Danish island of Falster. With a history dating from the 13th century, Orupgaard today manages over of farmland and forest as well as an equestrian facility at ...

on the island of

in 1840. He later acquired many other large properties, including

(1878) on Falster and Sædlingegård (1871) on Lolland, until he finally owned ten estates across Denmark with a total area of 2,400 hectares. He was a dynamic and innovative farmer, introducing a style of farming which was widely recognized as a model to be emulated. He thoroughly drained and fertilized the land, pioneered the use of steam power and new machinery in Danish agriculture, brought in new breeds of cattle and built a dairy, achieving a five-fold increase in production by 1890."Orupgaards historie"
, Orupgaard Gods. Retrieved 22 November 2012."Orupgård"
Lolland-Falsters Herregårde. Retrieved 22 November 2012. He established Nykøbing Falster Sugar Factory in

in 1884. He founded Nykøbing Falster Sukkerfabrik in

in 1884.

Personal life

Tesdorpf died at Orupgaard in 1889. He is buried at Idstrup Cemetery on Falster. He was married to Mary née Büsch (1820-1875). They had the sons Frederik Tesdorpf and Adolph Tesdorpf and the daughter Ida Charlotte Sophie Tesdorph.

Titles and honours

Tesdorpf was from 1860 to 1888 one of the presidents of Landhusholdningsselskabet. He was appointed an honorary member of the organisation when he retired from the post and was awarded its gold medal as the first recipient in 36 years. He was also an honorary member of the

Royal Agricultural Society of England The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) promotes the scientific development of English agriculture. It was established in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science" and received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1840. RASE is bas ...

. Tesdorpf was appointed an ''etatsråd'' in 1860, ''konferensråd'' in 1885 and ''gehejmekonferensråd'' in 1888. He received the Kommandørkorset of 2nd degree in 1872 and of the first degree in 1887. Danish agricultural organisations commissioned a statue of him from

Theobald Stein Theobald Stein (7 February 1829 – 16 November 1901) was a Danish sculptor. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and served as its director from 1883 to 1886. Among his most well-known works are the Niels Juel statue ...

after his death. It was installed in the gardens of the Royal Danish Agricultural College in

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 ...

in 1893. It has later been moved to Tesdorpfsvej which is named after him. Nykøbing Falster is also home to a memorial.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tesdorpf, Edward 1817 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Danish landowners German emigrants to Denmark Businesspeople from Hamburg People from Guldborgsund Municipality People from Lolland