Erhard Frederiksen (7 January 1843 – 12 October 1903) 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 a ...

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

and sugar manufacturer. He is considered one of the most significant writers on

agricultural economics Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that specif ...

of his time in Denmark. He was a co-founder of a sugar factory at

Holeby Holeby is a small town in Lolland Municipality, in Region Zealand, Denmark. It was the seat of Holeby Municipality. Holeby is the planned location of Lolland South railway station, set to open in 2028 on the line to Germany via the Fehmarn Belt ...

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 ...

in 1872–1874, which was later taken over by the Danish Sugar Factories under the name

Højbygaard Sugar Factory Højbygaard Sugar Factory ( Danish: Højbygaard Sukkerfabrik) was built in 1872–74 at Holeby on Lolland in southeastern Denmark. It was one of the first modern sugar factories built for the country's emerging sugar beet industry. It was taken ov ...

Early life and education

Frederiksen was born at Fuglsang, the son of Ditlev Friderichsen (1791–1861), the owner of Nøbbøllegård, and wife Maria Hansen (1811–1901). He was the brother of Johan Ditlved Frederiksen,

Kirstine Frederiksen Elisabeth Kirstine Frederiksen (1845–1903) was a Danish pedagogue, writer and women's activist. Thanks to study trips to the United States, she was a pioneer of visual pedagogy in Denmark, publishing ''Anskuelsesundervisning, Haandbog for Lære ...

and Niels Christian Frederiksen. Frederiksen graduated from

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy (Danish, ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by ...

in 1857 and then spent two years on his father's estate to obtain practical experience with farming before enrolling at the Royal Danish Agricultural College from where he graduated as an agricultural economist in 1862. In 1862–1863, he then worked under

Edward Tesdorpf 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-Falster area where he resided at Orupgaard n ...

as assistant manager at Ourupgård. He was also introduced to the dairy business by Thomas Riise Segelcke and visited a number of the most innovative agricultural estates across Denmark. He studied the latest trends in agriculture on a study trip to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.

Early career in agriculture

Frederiksen managed Nøbbøllegård for his mother from 1863 after his father had died in 1861 and became the owner of the estate in 1866. He enthusiastically introduced and experimented with many of the new technologies and principals that he had studied at the Royal Agricultural College and abroad. Højbygaard Sukkerfabrik

In 1871, his brother, Johan Ditlved Frederiksen, returned from a journey to Germany where he had studied sugar production based on

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...

s. The two brothers constructed the Lolland Sugar Factory in 1872–1874, but it was hit hard by a combination of unfortunate circumstances. The

1872 Baltic Sea flood The 1872 Baltic Sea flood (german: Ostseesturmhochwasser 1872), often referred to as a storm flood, ravaged the Baltic Sea coast from Denmark to Pomerania, also affecting Sweden, during the night between 12 and 13 November 1872 and was, until the ...

flooded much of Lolland and a new tax on sugar beets was in the same time introduced in 1873. It also turned out to be more difficult than expected to convince local farmers to grow sugar beets for the production. Industribanken cancelled their credit in 1876 and the company went bankrupt the following year. Frederiksen also lost his estate which was taken over by

Privatbanken Carl Frederik Tietgen (19 March 1829 – 19 October 1901) was a Danish financier and industrialist. He played an important role in the industrialisation of Denmark as the founder of numerous prominent Danish companies, many of which are still i ...

. The factory was reopened by C. F. Tietgen's Danish Sugar Factories under the name

in 1880. In 1878, Frederiksen was a co-founder and the first managing director of Københavns Mælkeforsyning. In 1870-80, he visited England and Alsace-Lorraine on a government stipend to study malted barley. He instigated annual malt barley exhibitions and that Landhusholdningsselskabet in 1883 a malt barley committee of which he was an active member.

Writer and editor in Copenhagen

After his bankruptcy, Frederiksen began a career as a writer and editor in Copenhagen. His brother-in-law, V. Topsøe, editor-in-chief of ''Dagbladet'', invited him to become editor of a new agriculture supplement in 1884. In 1879, he started the publication of ''Landbrugstidende,'' but it merged with ''Ugeskrift for Landmænd'' when he was appointed as co-editor the following year. He remained in the position until 1 January 1904. He also wrote for other magazines and contributed to E. Møller-Holst's ''Landbrugs-Ordbog''.

Back to Lolland

In 1882, C. F. Tietgen offered him a position as a consultant for

De Danske Sukkerfabrikker () was a Danish sugar manufacturing company established in 1872 in Copenhagen, Denmark. It played a central role in the development of a thriving Danish sugar industry based on sugar beets from Lolland-Falster, Møn and Funen. The company merged ...

. Frederiksen resided at Svingelgård at

Nakskov Nakskov is a town in south Denmark. It is situated in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland on the western coast of the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 12,495 (1 January 2022). To the west is Nakskov Fjord, an inlet from the La ...

where he engaged in

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

of barley and sugar beet varieties besides his work as consultant and co-editor of ''Ugeskrift for Landmænd''. He was a member of the Seed Control Commission () and co-founded in 1897 and served on the board until his death.

Personal life

As a young student in Copenhagen, Frederiksen moved in the highest intellectual circles. He was a frequent visitor in the homes of prominent cultural and political figures such as

Ditlev Gothard Monrad Ditlev Gothard Monrad (24 November 1811 – 28 March 1887) was a Danish politician and bishop, and a founding father of Danish constitutional democracy; he also led the country as Council President in its huge defeat during the Second Schles ...

Carl Ploug Carl Parmo Ploug (29 October 1813 – 27 October 1894) was a Danish poet, editor and politician. Ploug was born in Kolding, Denmark, to assistant professor and future head instructor Christian Frederik Ploug (1774–1837) and Parmone Caroline n� ...

Niels Laurits Høyen Niels Laurits Andreas Høyen (4 June 1798 – 29 April 1870) is considered to be the first Danish art historian and critic. He promoted a Danish nationalistic art through his writings and lectures, and exerted a far reaching effect on contempo ...

and

Constantin Hansen Carl Christian Constantin Hansen (Constantin Hansen) (3 November 1804 – 29 March 1880) was one of the painters associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting. He was deeply interested in literature and mythology, and inspired by art hist ...

. He married Sigrid Marie Elisabeth Topsøe (1844–1925, , Søren Christian Topsøe (1797–1847) and Sigrid Christine Gudrun Thorgrimsen (1813–86), on 28 May 1874 in the

Church of Holmen The Holmen Church ( da, Holmens Kirke) is a Parish church in central Copenhagen in Denmark, on the street called Holmens Kanal. First built as an anchor forge in 1563, it was converted into a naval church by Christian IV. It is famous for having ...

in Copenhagen. He was the father of V. Erhard-Frederiksen. Frederiksen was awarded the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

in 1897. He died on 12 October 1903 and is buried at

Vestre Cemetery Vestre Cemetery ( da, Vestre Kirkegård, meaning "Western Cemetery") is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark. The cemetery is landscape ...

in Copenhagen. In 1917, farmers on Lolland erected a memorial to Frederiksen outside Maribo. It was designed by H. C. Glahn and is located at the junction between the roads to Nakskov and

Rødby Rødby is a town, with a population of 1,983 (1 January 2022),Christian Erhard Frederiksen
at geni.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederiksen, Erhard Danish agriculturalists Agricultural economists Danish economists People from Lolland Municipality 1843 births 1903 deaths