Oluf Nicolai Roll (25 October 1818 – 12 November 1906) was a Norwegian engineer, architect and politician. He was responsible for the industrial development of the area around the river Akerselva in Christiania, and served as Director General of Statens Havnevesen from 1861 to 1896.

Personal life

Roll was born in

Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, the son of Jacob Roll (1783–1870) and Emilie Pihl (1797–1822). He was a maternal grandnephew of

Abraham Pihl Abraham Pihl (3 October 1756 – 20 May 1821) was a Norwegian clergyman, astronomer, and architect. Biography Abraham Pihl was born in Gausdal, in Oppland county, Norway. He completed priest study at the University of Copenhagen in 1783 wher ...

. On the paternal side he was a half-brother of

Ferdinand Nicolai Roll Ferdinand Nicolai Roll (28 May 1831 – 28 February 1921) was a Norwegian jurist and politician for the Conservative Party. He was born in Trondhjem as the son of judge and politician Jacob Roll and his third wife Nicoline Selmer.Karl Jacob Roll and Selma Roll, Through them he was an uncle of

Karl Roll Karl Nikolai Roll (14 March 1868 – 29 September 1958) was a Norwegian sports official, skier and military officer. Personal life Roll was born in Trondheim, Trondhjem as a son of vicar Karl Jakob Roll (1829–1887) and Anne Johanne Parelius (183 ...

and Arthur and

Jacob Roll Knagenhjelm Jacob Roll Knagenhjelm (1858 – 1932) was the Lord Chamberlain of King Haakon VII of Norway from 1925 to 1931 and a member of the Norwegian nobility. Personal life He was born in Trondhjem as the son of Ludvig Wiese Knagenhjelm (1824–1907) and S ...

. In May 1847 in

Aker Aker may refer to: Places * Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway * Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Aker Br ...

he married Hanna Christine Schou (1825–1867), a daughter of brewer

Christian Schou Christian Schou (13 December 1792 – 15 September 1874) was a Norwegian merchant, brewer and politician. Biography He was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Didrik Hansen Schou (1744–1795) and Anna Ludovica Wittrog. His ...

and sister of

Halvor Schou Halvor Arntzen Schou (11 May 1823 – 5 February 1879) was a Norwegian industrialist. He was the founder of the Hjula Væveri weaving mill in Oslo. Biography Halvor Schou was born in Christiania (now Oslo, Norway). He was a son of Chri ...

. They adopted the engineer Thomas Pihlfeldt.

Career

Roll

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

his secondary education in 1838, and then studied at the Royal Frederick University in Christiania, at the Polytechnische Hochschule in Hannover, and at the

École des Arts et Métiers École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...

in Paris. Back in Norway he was manager at the

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

Bentse Brug Bentse Brug is a former industrial installation in Oslo, Norway, near the river Akerselva. At the site was originally a corn mill, and from 1696 the first paper mill in Norway started its operation. In 1838 Norway's first paper machine was insta ...

. In 1845 he founded the company

Nydalens Compagnie Nydalens Compagnie was a company in Nydalen, Oslo, Norway. It was founded in 1845 as a textile manufacturer, and from 1963 to 1998 it was a real estate company. History It was founded in 1845 by Adam Hiorth, Ole Gjerdrum, Hans Gulbranson and Ol ...

together with

Adam Hiorth Adam Severin Hiorth (16 December 1816 – 20 December 1871) was a Norwegian merchant and industrial pioneer. Personal life Hiorth was born in Drøbak as a son of shipmaster Fredrik Wilhelm Hiorth (1776–1844) and Louise Caroline Brodersen ( ...

Hans Gulbranson Hans Gulbranson (1787–1868) was a Norwegian businessperson. He was a pioneer in the development of textile industry in Norway in the mid-1800s. Gulbranson was from Modum in Buskerud, Norway. He was a wholesaler in Christiania and was one of ...

and

Ole Gjerdrum Ole Eliassøn Gjerdrum (22 April 1785 – 29 January 1858) was a Norwegian jurist, civil servant and businessperson. Career He was born in Stange. He was a clerk for the district stipendiary magistrate until 1811. He then worked in Copenhagen and ...

. He was a board member from 1845 to 1868. He contributed by designing all the buildings for the first spinning mill (1845–1847), and also at a later expansion in 1856 and the construction of a weaving mill in 1864. Nydalens Compagnie developed into the largest textile company in Norway from the 1890s. Roll has been called "Norway's first civil engineer", and also "a sort of a godfather to industrialism in Christiania". The founding of Nydalens Companie has been said to signal the start of industrialization in Norway. Roll also founded

Christiania Mekaniske Væveri __NOTOC__ Christiania may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Christiania Bank, a former Norwegian bank * Christiania Theatre in Oslo, Norway * Christiania Spigerverk, a steel company which was founded in Oslo, Norway, in 1853 * Christiania ...

in 1847 together with Hiorth, Gulbranson, Peter J. K. Petersen and Iver Olsen.Myhre, 1990: p. 271 He designed new buildings for the companies Bentse Brug (1850), Hjula Væveri (1854–1856; this company was owned by Halvor Schou), and Nedre Vøien Spinderi from 1860. He also acted as a consultant for

Myrens Verksted Myrens Verksted is an industrial area in Norway on the east side of the Akerselva river, situated between the bridges Bentsebrua and Vøyenbrua in the southwest part of Torshov, in what is today the Sagene, Sagene Borough of Oslo. Production star ...

and Kværner Brug. In 1861 he was appointed Director General of Statens Havnevesen, a position he held until 1896. He was a member of the executive committee of the City Council of Christiania from 1856 to 1868. He was decorated Commander, Second Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1894, and was a Knight of the Order of Vasa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roll, Oluf Nicolai 1818 births 1906 deaths People from Trondheim 19th-century Norwegian architects Norwegian engineers Politicians from Oslo Directors of government agencies of Norway Knights of the Order of Vasa Norwegian company founders Architects from Oslo