Lauritz Nicolai Hvidt (27 October 1777 – 16 March 1856) 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 ...

merchant and politician. His trading house mainly traded on 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 ...

. He was also part of the management of the marine insurance company

De private Assurandeurer De Private Assurandører was a marine insurance company founded in 1786 in Copenhagen, Denmark. History In 1726, Det kgl. octr. Søe-Asseurance Compagni was granted a monopoly on marine insurance in Denmark. In the middle of the century, its mono ...

and director of the Bank of Denmark. As a liberal politician, he was involved in the work for a free constitution and a co-founder of the Free Press Society (). He was a member of the

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks. ...

from 1840 and its chairman from 1841. He lived in the now

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

at Kronprinsessegade 28 from 1812.

Early life and education

Hvidt was born in Copenhagen, the only son of textile merchant and later royal agent Niels Nielsen Hvidt (1738–1798) and Anna Beata Schwindt (1739–1808). He graduated from Borgerdyd School in 1681 and then studied theology 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 ...

from 1791 to 1795. He then worked as a house teacher for district governor C.L. Scheel-Plessen at Lindholm.

Career

Hvidt took over the family's trading house when his father suddenly died in 1798. The trading house thrived under his management but was hit hard by the war with England. Hvidt intended to study law but was instead employed as an exchange commissioner () in 1809. He was appointed as member of several commissions and had a significant influence on the important of 1825. Gvidt revived his trading house in 1816. The company mainly traded on

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

in the

. After a few years he had restored his position as one of the largest ship-owners in the country. Hvidt acquired Denmark's first steam vessel ''

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the part of Great Britain () that lies north of the River Forth, which includes most of the land area of Scotland. Today, it is used as a romantic or poetic name for all ...

'' in 1822 and a few years later commissioned the first steam vessel built in Denmark from Jacob Holm's shipyard. Hvidt was also active in the insurance market. From 1830 to 1835, he was a member of the Bank of Denmark's board of representatives and was one of its two commercial directors from 1835 and until his death. He was also a member of 's board of directors. He was a member of 's committee from 1817 and was in 1842 elected as its president. He was appointed as curator of Vajsenhuset in 1821 and was a member of the

College of Missions The College of Missions ( da, Missionskollegiet; la, Collegium de cursu Evangelii promovendo) or Royal Mission College (') was a Dano-Norwegian association based in Copenhagen which funded and directed Protestant missions under royal patronage. A ...

from 1838 to 1854.

Politic and public offices

In the 1830s and 1840s, Hvidt was a central figure in the liberal movement. He was elected as a member of in 1832 and was vice president of the Provincial Assemblies () in 1835–1836, 1840 and 1842. Hvidt and professor J.F. Schouw instigated the foundation of in 1835. He was also a co-founder of in 1844. Hvidt was elected to the

in 1840 and served as its president from 1841 to 1853. He was appointed as Minister Without Portfolio in the so-called March Cabinet and was involved in the drafting of the government's proposal for a democratic constitution. He was a fairly passive member of the

Danish Constituent Assembly The Danish Constituent Assembly () is the name given to the 1848 Constitutional assembly at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen that approved the Danish Constitution and formalized the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional democracy ...

Personal life

Hvidt married Wilhelmine Therese Lorck (28 May 1782 – 17 June 1852) on 20 August 1800 in Memel. She was a daughter of the Danish consul Lorentz Lorck (1743–1805) and Catharine Elisabeth Rohrdanz (1752–1831). Lauritz Nicolai Hvidt Memorial rendering

Lauritz Nicolai Hvidt Memorial rendering

Hvidt acquired the building at Kronprinsessegade 28 in 1812 and lived there until his death. He died on 16 March 1856 and is buried at

Assistens Cemetery Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...

. A memorial created by

Vilhelm Bissen Christian Gottlieb Vilhelm Bissen (5 August 1836 – 20 April 1913) was a Danish sculptor. He was also a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts with great influence on the next generation of Danish sculptors and for a while serv ...

and

Vilhelm Dahlerup Jens Vilhelm Dahlerup (4 August 1836 – 24 January 1907) was a Danish architect who specialized in the Historicist style. One of the most productive and noted Danish architects of the 19th century, he is behind many of the most known buildings ...

was installed in Ørsted Park to mark the 100-year anniversary of Hvidt's birth. It incorporates a bronze bust of Hvidt created by Vilhelm Bissen on the basis of an older bust created by his father Herman Wilhem Bissen. Lauritz Nicolai Hvidt by H

Only five of Hvidt's nine children survived him. His eldest son, Eduard Julius Hvidt (8 August 1806 – 7 February 1882) continued his father's business. Another son, Waldemar Hvidt (7 July 1817 – 30 December 1878), owned Frihedslund. His eldest daughter, Elise Beate Hvidt (24 June 1801 – 13 June 1890), married Friederich Wilhelm Tutein, son of

Friederich Tutein Johann Friederich Tutein (9 September 1757 – 6 March 1853) was a Danish merchant, ship-owner and industrialist. He managed the family's trading house under the name Fr. Tutein & Co. from 1799. It mainly traded on the Danish colonies with its own ...

. He inherited the family's trading house as well as the

Edelgave Edelgave is a manor house situated just southwest of Smørumnedre, Egedal Municipality, 20 km northwest of central Copenhagen, Denmark. The current main building was designed by Andreas Kirkerup and is listed. History 17th century The area i ...

outside Copenhagen. Another daughter, Charlotte Henriette Hvidt (20 September 1813 – 8 June 1847), married engineer and politician Edvard Diderik Ehlers. He headed the Technical Department in Copenhagen.

References

External links

Lauritz Nicolai Hvidt
at geni.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hvidt, Lauritz Nicolai 1777 births 1856 deaths 19th-century Danish businesspeople 19th-century Copenhagen City Council members Danish merchants Danish businesspeople in shipping Danish financial businesspeople Governors of the Bank of Denmark Businesspeople from Copenhagen University of Copenhagen alumni Members of the Constituent Assembly of Denmark