Rasmus Otto Mønsted (23 November 1838 - 4 September 1916) was an industrialist and margarine manufacturer from Denmark.
Born at the rural family manor of Lyngsbækgård on
Mols
Mols is a small Danish gathering of hilly peninsulas in the southern part of the larger peninsula of Djursland on the east coast of Jutland. The largest peninsulas of Mols comprise Skødshoved to the west, and Helgenæs to the east.
Mols' l ...
near
Ebeltoft
Ebeltoft is an old port town on the central east coast of Denmark with a population of 7,204 (1 January 2022).Aarhus in 1865 after some trading experience in
Grenå
Grenaa (or Grenå) is a Danish town and seaport on the east coast of the Jutlandic peninsula. Tourism, education and commerce are important sectors in the economy of Grenaa. It is the only larger town on Djursland. Grenaa is the municipal seat, a ...
,
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
and
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. In 1876, he founded a large business exporting
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...
in hermetically sealed containers to places like England, China and Africa. Although the butter company was successful, he diversified into manufacturing margarine, and in 1883 opened the first margarine factory in
Denmark
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
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. He followed five years later with a factory in Godley, near Manchester, England, and in 1894 he built a vast margarine works in
Southall
Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
, London. Mønsteds butter company was renamed to Otto Mønsted Aarhus in 1909 - usually just shortened to OMA - and the OMA margarine brand became very familiar in Denmark, as he introduced innovative marketing techniques for his time. He also tried to gain a foothold on the Russian market with margarine, but lost a great deal of money as a consequence of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the Russian revolution.
In Aarhus, he was very active in the city's economic life and was a member of the city council from 1885 to 1891. He led the establishing of the first local telephone company of Århus Telefonselskab and donated a large sum of money to the establishment of
Aarhus Theatre
The Aarhus Theatre (Danish: ''Aarhus Teater'') in Aarhus, is the largest provincial theatre in Denmark.
The present theatre house was constructed in the late 19th century, as a replacement for the old theatre, nicknamed "''Svedekassen''" (The Swe ...
and financed the interior artistic decorations as well.
Mønsteds' contributions was not limited to the town of Aarhus though and he was made a Knight of the Dannebrog. He built himself a villa in 1896-97, Kristianiagade 5 in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, designed by the architect
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 ...
. The building is now the
Russian Embassy
This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...
. When Mønsted died, he was one of Denmark's richest men. The Otto Mønsted Foundation was created, which contributes to the development of the Danish business community. In 1956, the Otto Mønsteds College in
Valby
Valby () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is in the southwestern corner of Copenhagen Municipality, and has a mixture of different types of housing. This includes apartment blocks, terraced housing, areas with single ...
was endowed.
References
Sources
* Jesper Strandskov, Peter Sørensen & Kurt Pedersen, Otto Mønsted : sig navnet -, Systime, 1998.
* Jesper Strandskov, et al.: "''Otto Mønsted and the early margarine industry: alliance capitalism a century ago''". The Scandinavian economic history review, Vol. 48, nr. 3 (2000) 0358-5522, p. 57-71
* Danmarkshistorien.dk Otto Mønsted (1839-1916) Aarhus University
* Aarhus Municipality: " Rasmus Otto Mønsted '" Mayors department (30 August 2012)