John Brown (3 March 1723 - 16 January 1808) was a Scottish-Danish merchant and ship-owner. He was a joint founder of John & David Brown in 1759. The company owned 17 ships in 1787 but was liquidated the following year. He was also active in the
Danish Asiatic Company
Danish Asiatic Company ( Danish: Asiatisk Kompagni) was a Danish trading company established in 1730 to revive Danish trade on the Danish East Indies and China following the closure of the Danish East India Company. It was granted a 40-year mon ...
where he was a member of the board of directors from 1770–75 and from 1779–85. He was appointed as
General War Commissioner General War Commissioner (from German ''Generalkriegskommissarius'') was a military office in various German states as well as in Denmark-Norway. It was the military officer in charge of national conscription, collection of war contributions, equi ...
in 1776. He was the second-largest landowner in
Gentofte
Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...
and owned
Benzonseje (now Risbyholm) from 1784 to 1788.
Early life
Brown was born on 3 March 1723 in
Dalkeith
Dalkeith ( ; gd, Dail Cheith, IPA: t̪alˈçe is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-cent ...
,
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 ...
, the son of William Brown and Margeret Brown. He came to Denmark a few months after his father had been killed in the
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...
.
Career
Brown was initially employed in Nicolai Fenwich's trading house in
Helsingør
Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...
. He moved to
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
in 1750 to work as a general trader. In 1755, he was granted
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
as a merchant. He purchased a property at
Christianshavns Kanal
Christianshavns Kanal (English language, English: Christianshavn Canal) is a canal in the Christianshavn neighbourhood of Copenhagen, Denmark. Running northeast–southwest, it bisects the neighbourhood along its length. To the north it connects to ...
, close to Snorrebroen, where he established a coal storage depot and warehouse. From 1757 his office was in
Vingårfsstræde. In 1759, John and his brother
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
established a trading house, John & David Brown, which mainly traded in wine,
bituminous coal
Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...
and materials for the clothing industry. Their ships mainly traded in the
Danish West Indies
The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas ...
and the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
, but later also in
Danish India
Danish India () was the name given to the colonies of Denmark (Denmark–Norway before 1814) in the Indian subcontinent, forming part of the Danish colonial empire. Denmark–Norway held colonial possessions in India for more than 200 years, i ...
. In 1787, John & David Brown had a fleet of 17 merchant ships.
In the late 1750s, Brown became a major stakeholder in the
Danish Asiatic Company
Danish Asiatic Company ( Danish: Asiatisk Kompagni) was a Danish trading company established in 1730 to revive Danish trade on the Danish East Indies and China following the closure of the Danish East India Company. It was granted a 40-year mon ...
. He was a member of the board of directors in 1770–75 and again in 1779–85. From 1884, he also began to trade in Danish India with his own ships, especially after his brother was appointed as Lord Governor of
Tranquebar
Tharangambadi (), formerly Tranquebar ( da, Trankebar, ), is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast. It lies north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary named Uppanar of the Kave ...
.
In 1781, he acquired the dockyard of Unrost at
Frederick's German Church in
Christianshavn
Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...
for his eldest son William. William was the next year made a partner in his father's trading house, which from then on traded as John & William Brown & Co. The company went bankrupt in 1788.
Ships
Property
Brown was interested in agriculture. He was the second-largest landowner in
Gentofte
Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...
(after
Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff
Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff (german: Johann Hartwig Ernst Graf von Bernstorff; 13 May 1712 – 18 February 1772) was a German-Danish statesman and a member of the Bernstorff noble family of Mecklenburg. He was the son of Joachim ...
). He was the owner of Tranegård with the brickyard Maglegård and Getreuensand. He imported Scottish farmers to improve the management of the land.
In 1782, he purchased the
Barchmann Mansion
Barchmann Mansion () is a Baroque style town mansion overlooking Frederiksholm Canal in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Built in the early 1740s to designs by Philip de Lange, it is also known as the Wedell Mansion (Danish: ''Wedells Palæ'') after t ...
at the corner of
Frederiksholms Kanal and
Ny Kongensgade
Ny Kongensgade (literally "New King's Street) is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Frederiksholm Canal to H. C. Andersens Boulevard. In the opposite direction, The Prince's Bridge connects the street to Tøjhusgade on Slotsholme ...
in Copenhagen. He also acquired the manor of
Benzonseje (Risbyholm). The estate included six churches. In difficult times he sold Benzonseje to his estate administrator of Benzonseje an later chamber councilor "kammerråd" and agricultural commissioner
Lars Lassen
Lars Lassen (1761 – 6 June 1823) was a Danish landowner, proprietor, chamber councilor "kammerråd" and agricultural commissioner. He was the son of Niels Lassen (1729-1811) and Karen Sørensdatter (1726-1810). Lars owned the estates Benzo ...
in 1789.
Personal life
He married Anna Appleby (1738-1798) on 20 October 1756 in the
German Reformed Church
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
in Copenhagen. She was the daughter of
Peter Applebye Peter Applebye (5 October 1709 – 13 August 1774) was a British-Danish industrialist. Applebys Plads in Copenhagen, the former site of his shipyard and ropewalk, is named after him.
Early life and education
There has been some debate about the pa ...
and Anna Pattridge.
Brown was a member of the
Royal Copenhagen Shooting Society
The Royal Copenhagen Shooting Society ( Danish: Kongelige Kjøbenhavnske Skydeselskab og danske Broderskab) was founded some time before 1443 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally it served to train citizens to contribute to the defence of the city bu ...
. He spent his last years at Maglegård where he had constructed a new main building. The estate was owned by one of his daughters. He died on the estate on 16 January 1808 and is buried in Applebye's Chapel in
Frederick's German Church in Copenhagen.
References
Further reading
* Hauch-Fausbøll, Th.:
Af Slægten Browns Historie', 1918.
External links
John BrownJohn BrownSource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, John
1808 deaths
1723 births
18th-century Danish businesspeople
Danish Asiatic Company people
Danish businesspeople in shipping
Danish merchants
People from Dalkeith
Scottish emigrants to Denmark