Jørgen Henrik Meinich (24 March 1820 – 8 September 1911) was a Norwegian jurist and industrialist. He was born in

Søndre Land Søndre Land is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Land. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hov. Other villages in the municipality include Fluberg and Odnes. ...

as a son of stipendiary magistrate Jens Christian Meinich (1787–1855) and Lisa Berg (1795–1824). He was a brother of

Hans Thomas Meinich Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

. In November 1847 in Christiania he married Claudine Birgitte Gulbranson (1823–1852), a daughter of Hans Gulbranson and half sister of Carl August Gulbranson. They adopted

Jens Bratlie Jens Kristian Meinich Bratlie (17 January 1856 – 15 September 1939) was a Norwegian attorney and military officer. He served as an elected official representing the Conservative Party. He was the 13th prime minister of Norway from 1912 to 1913. ...

. He grew up at the manor Kronviken. He attended school in

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...

and took the

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1839, then studied law to graduate with the cand.jur. degree in 1845. After a period as deputy judge in Ringerike, he worked in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

until 1853. He settled at the property

Bjølsen Bjølsen is a neighbourhood in the Sagene borough in central-northern Oslo, Norway. Originally a farm in the former Aker municipality, it was incorporated into Christiania (now Oslo) in 1878. It has been sawmill and mill operation as far back as t ...

by the river

Akerselva Akerselva or Akerselven ( en, Aker River) is a river which flows through Oslo. It starts at Maridalsvannet in Oslomarka, and traverses the boroughs of Nordre Aker, Sagene, Grünerløkka, central Oslo and Grønland, whereby it finally ends a ...

. He was a pioneer in the development of the Norwegian

wood processing Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing. The major wood pro ...

industry and the use of

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...

in the industry. He established Norway's second pulp mill, Bjørsheim Træsliiberie, in 1865. He was a co-founder and first chairman of the association Akerselvens Brugseierforening from 1866 to 1891. He was also a joint owner of the companies Bentse Brug and Nydalens Compagnie. In Nydalens Compagnie he was a board member from 1868 to his death 1911, serving as chair since 1896. Outside of the Aker district, he was the first chairman of Ekers og Giethuus Papirfabriker when it was established as a joint stock company in 1873, and served as such until his death. Meinich also chaired Norges Hypotekbank from 1885 to 1908, was a board member of the

Norwegian State Railways Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach s ...

and was active in the

Royal Norwegian Society for Development The Royal Norwegian Society for Development ( no, Det Kongelige Selskap for Norges Vel, also known as ''Norges Vel'' 'Norwegian Development', originally called ''Selskabet for Norges Vel'' 'Norwegian Society for Development') is a general developm ...

. He was mayor of Aker from 1875 to 1877, and when his district was incorporated in the city

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in 1878 he became a city council member. He was decorated Commander of the Order of St. Olav (1897) and the Danish

Order of Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

, and Knight of the Swedish

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of t ...

. He died in

in September 1911, 91 years old, and was buried at

Vår Frelsers gravlund The Cemetery of Our Saviour ( no, Vår Frelsers gravlund) is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It is located adjacent to the older Old Aker Cemetery and was created in 1808 as a result of the great ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meinich, Joergen 1820 births 1911 deaths People from Søndre Land University of Oslo alumni Norwegian jurists Norwegian civil servants Norwegian businesspeople Mayors of places in Akershus Politicians from Aker Politicians from Oslo Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour