Jonas Collin (6 January 1776 – 28 August 1861) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

civil servant and patron of the arts. He took care of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

when the later writer first arrived in

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 ...

as a child and remained his loyal friend and supporter for the remainder of his life. He was also involved in the foundation of the

Thorvaldsen Museum The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, dedicated to the art of Danish Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life (1796–1838). The museum is locat ...

Early life and education

Collin was born in

, the son of director of the Royal Danish Class Lottery Niels Collin (1736–1797) and Ingeborg Bolten (1735–1817). He grew up in the

Collin House The Collin House (Danish: ) is a listed Neoclassical property at Amaliegade No. 9 in the Frederiksstaden district of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name after Jonas Collin, a prominent civil servant and leading patrons of the arts durin ...

Bredgade Bredgade ( lit. "Broad Street") is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major stre ...

. He was taught at home, first by his parents and then by private teachers, including Christopher Frimann Omsen and the priest Michael Gottlieb Birckner. He studied law at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

, graduating in 1795.

Career

Collin's first job was in his father's office. This left him with enough time to study foreign languages and follow lectures on philosophy, mathematics and physics at the university. In 1800, he passed the examination in

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

. He was a member of Drejer's Club where many of the leading writers of the time met and was himself a contributor to

Knud Lyne Rahbek Knud Lyne Rahbek (18 December 1760 – 22 April 1830) was a Denmark, Danish literary historian, critic, writer, poet and magazine editor. Biography Knud Lyne Rahbek was the son of clergyman . He had always wanted to become an actor. In his yout ...

's ''Minerva'' and other journals. Collin left the Class Lottery when his father died. His contacts among high-ranking civil servants got him a position as a volunteer in the Treasury () where he mainly worked in the agriculture departments. In 1801, he was first appointed as copyist and then clerk. In 1807, he was appointed as bank commissioner and in 1812 as Assessor in and in 1916 as a finance deputy (). He worked first under

Ernst Schimmelmann Ernst Heinrich von Schimmelmann (4 December 1747 – 9 February 1831) was a German-born Danish politician, businessman, nobleman, planter and philanthropist. Early life and career Ernst von Schimmelmann was born in Dresden to Baron Heinrich Carl ...

and then

Johan Sigismund von Møsting Johan Sigismund von Mösting (2 November 1759 – 16 September 1843) was a Danish banker and finance minister. He was a key figure in the foundation of Bank of Denmark in 1818. His name is today also associated with Møstings Hus ("Møsting's Ho ...

. From early in his career, Collin had thoughts about a fundamental reorganization of the central administration. In 1815 he anonymously published as short article in ''Minerva'' in which he mocked the indolent and incompetent civil servants who only thought of their work as long as they were in their offices instead of "bringing it along wherever they go, going to bed with it at night and getting up with it in the morning". In the same articles, he proposed placing the responsibility for the government's spending and income in a single department. On several occasions, he in vain personally presented the same idea to Møsting. He was a member of the important finance commission which was established in 1836 under the leadership of

Adam Wilhelm Moltke Adam Wilhelm Moltke, 3rd Count of Bregentved (25 August 178515 February 1864) was a Danish nobleman, landowner, civil servant and politician, who in 1848-1852 was the first Prime Minister of Denmark under the new constitutional monarchy outline ...

. He was a member of the Treasury from 1831–1840. Collin retired in December 1848. Collin and H. Bech founded in 1820. He worked for the establishment of a public bathing facility at Rysensteen Bastion and the Rosenborg Brøndanstalt

day spa A day spa is a business that provides a variety of services for the purpose of improving health, beauty, and relaxation through personal care treatments such as massages and facials. The number of day spas in the US almost doubled in the tw ...

and mineral water factory in

Rosenborg Castle Garden Rosenborg Castle Gardens (Danish: Kongens Have literally The King's Garden) is the oldest and most visited park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Established in the early 17th century as the private gardens of King Christian IV's Rosenborg Castle, th ...

. Collin was a member of from 1805 and served as president of the association from 1809–1855.

Culture

Collin was secretary for the from 1803 to 1833. This brought him in contact with most of the leading cultural figures of the time. In 1821, in response to the so-called Mythological Dispute, he fostered the idea of a competition for artwork inspired by Norse mythology. He was a co-founder of Athenæum and . In 1841, he became an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts.

Personal life

Collin married Henriette Christine Birckner, née Hornemann, (c. 26 November 1772 – 21 May 1845) on 13 November 1803 in Ledøje Church. She had previously been married to Michael Gottlieb Birckner, Collin's former teacher. They had daughters Louise Collin (married Lind) and Ingeborg Collin (married Drewsen) and sons Edvard Collin, Gottlieb Collin and Theodor Collin. He died on 28 August 1861 and is buried in Frederiksberg Old Cemetery.

Awards

Collin became a Knight in the Order of the Dannebrog in 1813, received the Cross of Honour in 1826, became a Commander in the Order of the Dannebrog in 1836 and received the

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

in 1849.

Cultural references

Jonas Collin (

Lars Brygmann Lars Brygmann (born 17 February 1957) is a Danish actor. He graduated from acting school in 1987 and went on to perform in a number of theatres in Denmark. His television and film debut came in 1995. He is the brother of actors Martin Martin ma ...

) is depicted in the 2005 DR television series '' Unge Andersen''. The couple had five children.

Written works

Collin published in 1822–1825.

References

External links

Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collin, Jonas Danish civil servants Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog 1776 births 1861 deaths

Jonas Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States People with the name * Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas * Jonas, one of ...