Otto Thott (13 October 1703 – 10 September 1785) 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 ...

Count, minister of state, and land owner. During his lifetime, he acquired Gavnø Castle and one of the largest private collections of book and manuscripts in Denmark.

Early life and education

He was the son of Tage Thott (1648-1707), a member of the Danish Privy Council and county governor of Holbæk. After the death of his father, his mother, Petra Sophie Reedtz (1675-1720) sold the manor at Turebyholm and moved with him to

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

, where he attended school. After the death of his mother, he was supported financially by several aunts and was able to continue his education and development abroad. He lived for a time in Halle, where he studied history, philosophy and

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

at the

University of Halle-Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

. He continued these studies in the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

and later during his stays in the Netherlands, England and France. Additionally, he made the acquaintance of several scientists in the various towns where he stayed and managed to acquire a number of valuable manuscripts and books.

Career

In 1723, upon his return to Denmark, he obtained a secretary position in the Danish Chancellery. On 30 August 1746 he came to lead the College of Finance as the 1st deputy, a post he held until 6 December 1759. He led during a time in which he succeeded in paying down the government debt. In 1758 he join the State Council (''gehejmekonseillet''). In February 1763, he succeeded

Johan Ludvig Holstein Johan Ludvig Holstein, Lensgreve til Ledreborg (7 September 1694 – 29 January 1763) was a Danish Minister of state from 1735 to 1751. The Danish colony Holsteinsborg on Greenland (now Sisimiut), was named after him. He was the ancestor of the ...

as Minister of Finance and secretary of the Danish Chancellor. Shortly after King Frederick V's accession to the throne, he had received the Order of the Dannebrog and in 1747 was made a member of the Danish Privy Council. In 1752, Dowager Queen Sophie Magdalene (1700–1770) awarded him the Ordre de l'Union Parfaite.

Book collector

In 1737, Otto Thott bought St. Agnes' Priory on the island of Gavnø. From 1755-1758, he modernized the estate turning it into the

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

palace later known as Gavnø Castle. Otto Thott acquired most of the library of Edward Harley (1689–1741) after the latter's death. The library of Otto Thott contained 138,000 volumes at his death in 1785. It was one of the largest private libraries of the 18th century in Denmark. The

Royal Danish Library The Royal Library ( da, Det Kongelige Bibliotek) in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world and the largest in the Nordic countries ...

in Copenhagen received 4,154 manuscripts and 6,159 early printed books, of which 1,500 were incunabula. Further, the library bought about 60,000 volumes at the auction sale.

Allen Kent Allen Kent (October 24, 1921 – May 1, 2014) was an information scientist. Early life He was born in New York City.
ASIS&T obitu ...

Encyclopedia of library and information science, Volume 42
New York 1987, p. 236

Personal life

In 1732, he married Birgitte Charlotte Kruse (1711-1781) a daughter of Major General Ulrik Christian Kruse (1666-1727). Otto Thott died during 1785. Both he and his wife were buried at Sorø Klosterkirke.

Early life and education

Career

Book collector

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading