Haldor Frederik Axel Topsøe (24 May 1913 – 20 May 2013) was a Danish engineer and founder and chairman of the catalysis company '' Haldor Topsøe''. He was grandson of the chemist and crystallographer

Haldor Topsøe (1842–1935) Haldor Frederik Axel Topsøe (29 April 1842 in Skælskør, Slagelse Municipality, Denmark – 31 December 1935 in Frederiksberg, Denmark) was a Danish chemist and crystallographer. He is grandfather of the engineer Haldor Topsøe (1913–2013) who ...

, after whom he is named.

Biography

Topsøe was born on 24 May 1913 in Copenhagen, Denmark, as son of captain Flemming Topsøe (1885–1954) and Hedvig Sofie Topsøe (1888–1961). After graduating from

Frederiksberg Gymnasium Frederiksberg Gymnasium is an upper secondary school ( Danish gymnasium) in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Its current building, located just off Falkoner Allé, was inaugurated in 2004 to a design by Henning Larsen Architects. ...

in 1931, he started studying physics under Niels Bohr and chemistry at the Technical University of Denmark. He became a master of Science in Engineering in chemistry in 1936. He started his career with working at

AarhusKarlshamn AAK, formerly AarhusKarlshamn, is a global Sweden-based company and producer of vegetable oils and fats. History The company, formerly known as AarhusKarlshamn, was founded in 2005 through the merger of Karlshamns AB (founded 1918 in Karl ...

1936–1939 before founding his own catalysis company '' Haldor Topsøe'' in 1940 with which he established himself as engineer in Kongens Lyngby. The company got a production structure in Frederikssund in 1958 and later in Houston, United States. During the 1950s, Topsøe experimented with petition of silicon to semiconductors in the cellar in his home and in 1959, he founded the process Topsil. Topsøe owned the company ''Haldor Topsøe'' until 1972 when the Italian company ''Snamprogetti'' took over 50% of its shares. In 2007, he bought it back and it is now owned to 100% by the Topsøe family. Besides his own process, Topsøe has also worked as among Chairman of the

Scandinavian Airlines Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark ...

and

Danish Air Lines Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S or DDL, trading in English as Danish Air Lines, was Denmark's national airline from 1918 until it merged to create Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in 1951. DDL was established on 29 October 1918, but started it ...

and been member of the board of directors of among ''

Kampsax Kampsax A/S was a Danish engineering firm. Kampsax was established November 1, 1917 by Per Kampmann, Otto Kierulff and Jørgen Saxild. In 2002 it was bought by COWI A/S. Kampsax was world renowned for geographic information systems, mapping and roa ...

'', '' Incentive A/S'', '' De forenede Bryggerier'', '' Haand i Haand'' and '' Philips''. Topsøe became an honorary doctor in 1968 at

Aarhus University Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

, in 1969 at the Technical University of Denmark and in 1986 at Chalmers University of Technology in

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 ...

. In 1985, he received the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters' gold medal and in 1991 a Hoover Medal. Topsøe was also member of several organizations, among them the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and since 1951 Akademiet for de Tekniske Videnskaber. Topsøe owned the historic house Frydenlund from 1960.

Death

In early May 2013, Topsøe broke his

hip In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region is ...

following a fall and had to cancel his planned 100-year-celebration. He died on 20 May, just four days before his 100th birthday.

Family

Topsøe was married to Inger Topsøe, born ''Veng Kunst'' 1913 from 1936 until her death in 2008 and they have four children, among them the mathematician Flemming Topsøe (born 25 August 1938) and the engineer Henrik Topsøe (born 10 August 1944) who became Chairman of ''Haldor Topsøe'' after his father's death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topsoe, Haldor Danish chief executives Danish engineers Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog 1913 births 2013 deaths Politicians from Copenhagen Danish chemical engineers