Jørgen Christian Knudsen (5 January
in ''Porsgrunds udvikling 1860-1900'', by A. L. Coll. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. or 5 December 1843 – 25 December 1922) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

ship-owner and politician for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Personal life

He was born at Saltrø in

Stokken Stokken is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1919 until 1962 when it was merged into the newly-created Moland municipality. Today, the area is a part of the present-day municipality of ...

as a son of Christen and Guro Knudsen, née Aadnesdatter. The family bought the farm Frednes in

Eidanger Eidanger is a rural parish and former municipality of Porsgrunn, in Telemark County, Norway. History Eidanger was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was merged with Porsgrunn on 1 January 1964. The mai ...

in 1854, and moved there. Jørgen Christian Knudsen had one sister Elen Serine, who married Johan Jeremiassen, and one brother

Gunnar Gunnar is a male first name of Nordic origin (''Gunnarr'' in Old Norse). The name Gunnar means fighter, soldier, and attacker, but mostly is referred to by the Viking saying which means Brave and Bold warrior (''gunnr'' "war" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

.Rønningen (Øvre Frednes)
in ''Gårds og slektshistorie for Eidanger. Fra 1814-1980'', by Per Chr. Nagell Svendsen. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. Gunnar Knudsen would later become

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...

for the Liberal Party. In 1867 Jørgen Christian Knudsen married Marie Henriette Resch, daughter of Captain Hagbarth Resch. They settled at Frednes farm. In 1868 they had the son

Finn Christian Knudsen Finn Christian Knudsen (born 13 October 1868) was a Norwegian engineer and politician. He was born in Porsgrunn. He served as mayor of Eidanger from 1907 to 1910, and from 1916 to 1919. He was elected representative to the Storting for the perio ...

, and in 1873 the son

Christen Knudsen Christen Knudsen (25 January 1813 - 7 April 1888) was a Norwegian ship-owner.Frednesallé ...

. A daughter married

Robert Rafn Robert Rafn (27 February 1878 – 1964) was a Norwegian businessperson and politician for the Conservative Party. He was born in Porsgrund as a son of shipmaster Hans Christian Rafn (1833–1899) and Hanna Annette Halvorsen (1847–1939). He took ...

. Their daughter Gunda married the British diplomat

Christopher Lintrup Paus Christopher "Kiff" Lintrup Paus (; 6 November 1881 in – 28 May 1963) was a British diplomat, who served at the British Embassy in Oslo for several decades, as commercial counsellor and as the British consul in Oslo and head of the British ...

Career

Knudsen was a notable ship-owner, running the company J. C. & G. Knudsen with his brother Gunnar.Frednesalléen 1
in ''Eidanger–Porsgrund'', by Finn C. Knudsen (1932). Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. He was also a shipbuilder and factory owner. The partnership with his brother ended in 1889, and Knudsen ran his own company. The company was passed down to his sons Finn and Christen, and split between them in 1923. One of Knudsen's best known ships was the '' Skomvær'', which was for a time the largest sailing ship in Norway. He was the mayor of

Porsgrund Porsgrund Porcelain Factory (''Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik'', abbreviated PP) is a porcelain flatware company located at Porsgrunn in Telemark county, Norway. History The company's production plant is a popular tourist attraction. The company wa ...

municipality in 1893, and vice mayor in 1891, 1892, 1894 and 1895.Ordførere og viceordførere
by Carl Lund. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. He was elected to the city council for the first time in 1877. He also represented the city in the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

, where he advocated and defended the union with Sweden. He was elected from the constituency ''Porsgrund'' in 1880, 1883, 1886, 1892, 1895, 1898 and 1904. For the first five terms he was a member of the

Standing Committee on Justice The Standing Committee on Justice ( no, Justiskomiteen) is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to judicial system, the probation service, the police, persons performing civilian national service ...

, then the Standing Committee on the Army. In his last term he chaired the Standing Committee on Railways. He was a deputy member of the

Norwegian Nobel Committee The Norwegian Nobel Committee ( no, Den norske Nobelkomité) selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will. Five members are appointed by ...

from the beginning in 1897, to 1909. He was also a supervisory council member of the

Bank of Norway Norges Bank / Noregs Bank is the central bank of Norway. The bank shall promote economic stability in Norway. Norges Bank also manages the Government Pension Fund of Norway and the bank’s own foreign exchange reserves. History The history of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudsen, Joergen Christian 1840s births 1922 deaths Norwegian businesspeople in shipping Mayors of places in Telemark Members of the Storting Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Politicians from Porsgrunn Place of birth missing Date of death missing Place of death missing