Michael Fabritius (2 May 1697 – 13 November 1746) was a Danish merchant, shipowner and shipbuilder.

Early life and education

Michael Fabritius was born in Copenhagen on 12 May 1697. His parents, wine merchant Herman Fabritius (1667-1729) and Elisabeth Marie Abbestée (1677-1752), were immigrants from Germany and belonged to the city's German Reformed congregation. Michael Fabritius was the elder brother of

Just Fabritius Gotthilf Just Fabritius (1 September 1703 – 7 May 1766) was a Danish merchant. History Just Fabritius was born in Copenhagen to German immigrants. His father was a wine merchant. He established his own trading house and had close ties to the sta ...

Career

Fabritius 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 in 1732. He was one of the first Danish merchants to send ships to China and was a co-founder of Det Kinesiske Societet. He was also active in

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 ...

. In 1735, he purchased the Grønnegård Harbour at the southern tip of Christianshavn. In 1738, he was one of the driving forces behind the foundation Kurantbanken and for a while served as its managing director. Together with Johann Fr. Wewer he was the founder of the Fabritius & Wewer trading house. Like the other major merchants of his time, Michael Fabritius had close ties to the state, providing it with loans and participating in the equipping of ships in connection with expeditions to overseas destinations. He also provided the state with goods such as

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrat ...

for the manufacture of gunpowder. He became an agent with rank of justitsråd in 1743.

Personal life

Michael Fabritius married Anna Maria Köster (17 November 1705 in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

– 18 March 1775) on 30 May 1726 in Mühlheim. Their two sons, Michael and Conrad Alexander, were ennobled by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

on 4 May 1776 under the name

Fabritius de Tengnagel Fabritius de Tengnagel is a Danish nobility, Danish and Norwegian nobility, Norwegian noble family. History The family originated from Johannes Fabritius (1620–71) of Brandenburg. The genus immigrated to Denmark with his son Herman Fabritius (1 ...

. In 1734, Fabritius purchased the country house Enrum north of Copenhagen. The older of Fabritius' two daughters, Anna Elisabeth, married Reinhard Iselin. Their younger daughter, Charlotte, married shipowner, merchant and textile manufacturer

Peter van Hemert Peter van Hemert (29 May 1734 - 20 May 1810) was a Danish merchant and shipowner. His family's trading house, Joost van Hemert & S'nner, existed until 1805. Early life and education Hemert was born in Copenhagen on 20 May 1734, the son of merchant ...

. Fabritius died in 1746 and was buried at

Holmens Cemetery Holmen Cemetery ( Danish: Holmens Kirkegård) is the oldest cemetery still in use in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first located next to the naval Church of Holmen in the city centre but relocated to its current site on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé in t ...

. His widow married his business partner Johann Fr. Wewer in 1748 and, after his death, Major-General Jean Baptiste Descariéres de Longueville (1699-1766). She died in 1775 and was buried at Christian's German Church.

References

External links

Michael Fabritius
at geni.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabritius, Michael 1697 births 1746 deaths 18th-century Danish businesspeople 18th-century merchants Danish Asiatic Company people Danish businesspeople in shipping 18th-century Danish shipbuilders Danish merchants Businesspeople from Copenhagen Danish people of German descent

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links