Gustav Adolf Jebsen (30 January 1884 – 20 January 1951) was a Norwegian industrialist.

Personal life

He was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

as the youngest son of factory owner and ship-owner

Peter Jebsen Peter Jebsen ( 6 May 1824 – 30 October 1892) was a Norway, Norwegian businessperson and politician. He was the founder of Dale of Norway. Background Jebsen was born at Broager in the Duchy of Schleswig. He was the son of Jens Jebsen (1778-1 ...

(1824–1892) and Sophie Catharina Sundt (1849–1912). He was a brother of Kristian Gerhard Sundt Jebsen and maternal grandson of Christian Gerhard Ameln Sundt. In 1917 he married attorney's daughter Lilla Døscher. He was a granduncle of

Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen (27 May 1927 – 19 February 2004) was a Norwegian ship-owner. He was born in Bergen as a son of ship-owner Kristian Jebsen (1901–1967) and Sissi Kjerland (1904–1993). He was a great-grandson of factory owner and ship- ...

and

Atle Jebsen Atle Jebsen (10 November 1935 – 13 October 2009) was a Norwegian businessperson and ship-owner. Jebsen was born in Bergen in 1935 and was a great-grandson of Peter Jebsen. He was one of the most important persons in the Norwegian shipping during ...

, and an uncle of Kristian Jebsen.

Career

Jebsen finished education in

machine engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

at Bergen technical school at the age of seventeen, and studied chemistry at the Technische Hochschule Hannover and the Royal Technical College of Charlottenburg. He took the doctorate in Zurich in 1905 with the thesis ''Zur Kenntnis der Phenoxymucobrom- und Chlorsäure als aromatische Verbindungen''. From 1905 to 1906 he studied at

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. In 1906 he was hired in

Sam Eyde Samuel Eyde (29 October 1866 – 21 June 1940) was a Norwegian engineer and industrialist. He was the founder of both Norsk Hydro and Elkem. Personal life Eyde was born in Arendal in Aust-Agder, Norway. He was a son of ship-owner Samuel Eyde (181 ...

's company

Elektrokemisk Elkem is a company that produces silicones, silicon, alloys for the foundry industry, carbon and microsilica, and other materials. Elkem was founded in 1904, has more than 7,000 employees and fields 30 production sites worldwide. Elkem has an oper ...

. Together with Peder Farup he discovered and innovated the use of

titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. It is a white solid that is insolubl ...

as the

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

titanium white Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. It is a white solid that is insolubl ...

; together with the exploitation of the Søderberg electrode, this was the most important innovation during Jebsen's time. The process of producing titanium white was figured out in 1914. Before that, Jebsen had become chief executive officer of Elektrokemisk in 1912. In 1916 he became chairman of the new company Titan Co. which produced titanium dioxide. In 1919 he briefly served as the first president of the

Federation of Norwegian Industries The Federation of Norwegian Industries ( no, Norsk Industri) is an employers' organisation in Norway, organized under the national Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise. It was established on 1 January 2006 as a merger of the Federation of Norwe ...

. During the post-

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

economic crisis he had to leave Elektrokemisk in 1920, but became chief executive officer of Titan Co. in 1924. The shares in Titan Co. plummeted until being bought in 1927 by the American corporation

National Lead National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

along with the

patent rights A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

for titanium white. Jebsen was hired in National Lead, and worked out of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, from 1929 as chief executive of Titan Co. Inc in Europe. The corporation included companies such as Titangesellschaft in Germany and

British Titan Products British Titan Products was the manufacturer of Tioxide, a brand of white yet opaque pigment and whitening agent made from titanium dioxide. It was initially organised to replace titanium dioxide supplies that British paint manufacturers imported fro ...

. In 1940 Jebsen moved from Paris to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1943

Nygaardsvold's Cabinet __NOTOC__ Nygaardsvold's Cabinet (later becoming the Norwegian government-in-exile, Norwegian: ''Norsk eksilregjering'') was appointed on 20 March 1935, the second Labour cabinet in Norway. It brought to an end the non-socialist minority Governm ...

, exiled from Norway because of the war, named industrial committees consisting of expatriates in London and New York, and Jebsen worked for the New York-based committee. For his work here he was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

after the war, in 1946. He died in January 1951 in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jebsen, Gustav Adolf 1884 births 1951 deaths Businesspeople from Bergen Norwegian chemical engineers 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople Norwegian expatriates in Germany Norwegian expatriates in Switzerland Norwegian expatriates in France Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian people of World War II