Peder von Cappelen (24 January 1763 – 11 March 1837) was a Norwegian merchant and politician. He was involved in

timber trade There are multiple market layers for wood products. Each country has its own domestic market that may be connected to a regional or global market. Timber supply to domestic markets in many tropical forest countries is largely provided by informal lo ...

and owner of

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

, and a member of the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

Personal life

Peder von Cappelen was born and raised at Mæla Manor in

Gjerpen Gjerpen is a former township which is now part of the municipality of Skien, in Telemark county, Norway. Location The parish of Gjerpen was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). According to the 1835 census th ...

(''Mæla gård i Gjerpen'') in the municipality of

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He was one of the sons of the wholesaler, timber merchant and ship owner Diderich von Cappelen (1734–1794) and his first wife Petronelle Pedersdatter Juel (1737–1785). He was the brother of

Diderik von Cappelen Diderik von Cappelen (21 June 1761 – 3 April 1828) was a Norwegian wholesaler, merchant, shipowner, estate owner and politician in 1814. He is often referred to as Diderik von Cappelen but he spelt his name ''Didrich von Cappelen'' and is also ...

and

Ulrich Fredrich von Cappelen Ulrich Fredrich von Cappelen (1770–1820) was a Norwegian businessman, ship owner and timber merchant.England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(1780-1781). He received a business education both abroad and at the extensive family businesses in

. He settled as a wholesaler at

Strømsø Strømsø is a borough of Drammen, Viken, Norway. Strømsø is located at the southern side of the river Drammenselva. Until about 1600, Stømsø was an island surrounded by the Drammenselva, but was later made landfast. In 1728 Strømsø was gr ...

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken (county), Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and village ...

during 1784. He purchased the trading facilities at Cappelengården from Peter Collett in 1784. He also acquired Austad farm through marriage. He had a seat at Eidsfos Manor (''Eidsfos Hovedgård''), which was his private residence. Cappelen acquired the

Eidsfos Iron Works Eidsfoss is a village in Hof municipality, Vestfold county, Norway. It is located near Lake Eikeren. The village was the site of the Eidsfos Iron Works (''Eidsfos Jernverk'') which dated to 1697. The iron works was closed in 1873. The village is ...

at Hof in

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

during 1795, and Kongsberg Iron Works on

Numedalslågen Numedalslågen is a river located in the counties of Vestfold and Telemark and Viken in southeastern Norway. It is one of the longest rivers in Norway. Location Numedalslågen stretches for over through the counties of Vestfold and Telemark and ...

in 1824. In 1811 he donated 10,000 rigsdaler to the establishment of a University in Christiania (now University of Oslo). He represented

at the

from 1815. He was decorated 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 ...

in 1825.

Personal life

In 1784, he married Christine Marie Klein (1766–1849). Cappelen died at

Eidsfos Verk Eidsfos Verk ( en, Eidsfos Iron Works) was an ironworks located at Eidsfoss in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. Eidsfos Verk was established in 1697 when the first blast furnace was first put into operation. The ironwork, which was depend ...

in 1837. Both of their two daughters had died before their parents. After his death, his affairs were managed by son-in-law, Jørgen von Cappelen Omsted and John Collet Bredesen.

References

1763 births 1837 deaths Politicians from Skien Norwegian merchants Members of the Storting Knights of the Order of Vasa

Peder Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived directly from Greek , ''Petros'' (an invented, masculine form of Greek ''petra,'' the word for "rock" or "stone"), which itself was a translation of Aramaic ''Kefa'' ("stone, rock"), the new na ...

18th-century Norwegian businesspeople 19th-century Norwegian businesspeople {{Norway-business-bio-stub