Herman Petersen (13 December 171313 August 1765) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

Biography

Herman Petersen was born on 13 December 1713 to Abraham Petersen, a wholesaler 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 ...

and his wife Christina Tham. He was elected to serve as director of the

Swedish East India Company The Swedish East India Company ( sv, Svenska Ostindiska Companiet or ''SOIC'') was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with China and the Far East. The venture was inspired by the success of the Dutch East ...

for a period during the 18th century. Petersen traded great amounts of copper with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He did so with his company ''Petersen & Bedoire'', that he had started with his brother-in-law, Fredrik Bedoire. Petersen was a member of the so called ''Skeppsbroadel''. Petersen was one of the wealthiest men in Sweden during the 18th century, and with all of his money, he bought several estates that still lasts in the family as of today. His children were raised to peerage after he had died. A

nobiliary particle A nobiliary particle is used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it is the same as a regular p ...

"af" were added to their surname. In 1741, he married Magdalena Bedoire, and in 1753 her cousin, Charlotta Bedoire.

Biography

See also

References

Further reading