Fredrik Wilhelm Louis Hiorth (February 4, 1851 – January 1, 1923) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

engineer and industrialist.''Norsk biografisk leksikon'': Fredrik Hiorth.
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Early life and family

Hiorth was born in Aker. He was the son of the sheriff there, Hans Jensenius Hiorth (1808–1902), and his wife Lena Woxen. His father was the brother of the industrialist Adam Hiorth. Fredrik married Thekla Pauline Dahlstrøm (1850–1937), a captain's daughter from Gøteborg, in 1875. Both of them were very religious.Dehlin, Harald Stene. 1949. ''Boken om Albert Hiorth: en norsk Aladdin''. Oslo: Lutherstiftelsen. Their son Albert Hiorth (1876–1949) was a well-known engineer and a lay preacher that founded several companies.

Career

After passing his ''

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

'' in 1869 and studying engineering at the

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology ( sv, Chalmers tekniska högskola, often shortened to Chalmers) is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international level ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

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 ...

, Hiorth worked for the railroad in

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...

until 1880. He purchased the Rodeløkka Iron Foundry (''Rodeløkken Jernstøberi'') in 1878, when it had only fourteen employees. He headed the company until 1892, when it became part of the

Kværner Kværner was a Norwegian engineering and construction services company that existed between 1853 and 2005. In 2004, it was amalgamated to the newly formed subsidiary of Aker ASA - Aker Kværner, which was renamed Aker Solutions on 3 April 2008 ...

company, where he was a part owner and director until the spring of 1900, when he founded the F. Hiorth Engineering Office together with his son Albert Hiorth. He also assisted his cousin Fredrik Wilhelm Hjorth Christensen (1851–?) in establishing the Freia chocolate factory in 1889. After ordering a steam- and diesel-powered Dixi automobile in 1900, in 1901 he established the company F. Hiorth’s Automobilforretning (F Hiort Automobile Company) in 1901, which was the first Norwegian company to import cars. He sold the company in 1906 to his assistant Adolf Kristian Kolberg (1874–1955), and the company was renamed Kolberg & Caspary. Hiorth later operated as a hydropower speculator and power-plant developer. Hiorth was also a main shareholder in the company Bjølvefossen A/S, which he started in 1905 with his son Albert as CEO or administrative director. He contributed to establishing

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around the world an ...

in 1905. Hiorth received the Order of St. Olav in 1902. He died in Oslo.

Legacy

The now-abandoned settlement of

Hiorthhamn Hiorthhamn is an abandoned settlement located on the east side of Adventfjorden on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. It served as a coal mining camp from 1917 to 1921 operated by De Norske Kullfelter Spitsbergen. The settlement w ...

on the island of

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...

is named after Hiorth.''The Place Names of Svalbard''. 2003. Tromsø: Norwegian Polar Institute, p. 183.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiorth, Fredrik 1851 births 1923 deaths Engineers from Oslo Businesspeople from Oslo Norwegian expatriates in Sweden