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 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 at P ...

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 and

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

and Jacob Roll Knagenhjelm. 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 The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

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 together with Adam Hiorth, Hans Gulbranson and Ole Gjerdrum. 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 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 Kværner was a Norwegian engineering and construction services company that existed between 1853 and 2005. In 2004, it was amalgamated to the newly formed subsidiary of Aker ASA - Aker Kværner, which was renamed Aker Solutions on 3 April 200 ...

. 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 in 1894, and was a Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

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