Jens Henrik Beer (1731 – 7 August 1808) was a Norwegian businessperson. He was born in

Flekkefjord is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Flekkefjord. The villages of Sira, Gyland, Rasvåg, Kirkehavn, and Åna-Sira are lo ...

as a son of merchant and sawmill owner Nils Henriksen Beer (1690–1746) and his wife Anna M. C. Eide. His father acquired burghership in 1736, and was probably a part of the first generation of the family to be born in Norway—Jens Henrik Beer's grandfather probably immigrated from Germany or the Netherlands. Beer was married twice; first to Elisabeth K. J. Eide (1736–1767) from 1763 to 1765, then to Ellen Bolette Færø (1745–1817) from 1769 to his death. He was a grandfather of Jens Henrik Beer and Anders Beer. He attended school in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and also spent time at sea. He is notable for being one of the leading merchants between Norway and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

at his time. His ships exported timber to Scotland, and

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...

and

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

in return to Norway. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

he saved Scottish cargo by sailing under a Danish flag, and even sold it in France. He was declared an

honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of Montrose in 1772. In Norway, to which he gradually retreated, he was a ship-owner and owned sawmills at Tjørsvaag, Fjeldså and Sirnes in the Flekkefjord district, at Haukom in Siredalen and at

Feda Feda is a village in Kvinesdal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the north side of the Fedafjorden, about southwest of the village of Liknes and about east of the town of Flekkefjord. The village has a population ...

References

1731 births 1808 deaths People from Flekkefjord Norwegian businesspeople Members of the Storting Mayors of places in Vest-Agder Norwegian farmers Norwegian non-fiction writers {{Norway-politician-1790s-stub