Peter Jebsen ( 6 May 1824 – 30 October 1892) was a Norwegian

businessperson A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

and politician. He was the founder of

Dale of Norway Dale of Norway is a Norwegian clothing brand known for their production of high quality pure wool knitwear. The textile factory for the company is located at the village of Dale, Hordaland, Dale in Vaksdal Municipality, about east of the city of ...

Background

Jebsen was born at

Broager Broager (; german: Broacker, South Jutlandic: Braue) is a town with a population of 3,238 (1 January 2022)Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ( ...

. He was the son of Jens Jebsen (1778-1850) and Maren Hansen (1790-1835). Jebsen grew up in the village of Skelde on the

Broager Peninsula Broager Peninsula ( da, Broagerland) is a peninsula and cultural region in southern Denmark. The peninsula consists entirely of the former Broager Municipality. The peninsula has an area of 43,38 km² and a population of 6,203. The namesake, an ...

in Sønderjylland, Denmark.

Career

In 1839, he began his career working at his brother's manufacturing and trade firm in Sønderborg and subsequently for a brother-in-law in the cloth industry at Hamburg. He moved to Bergen in 1843, bought a river in Ytre Arna for 200 specidaler borrowed money and started manufacturing cloth. As one of the first manufactures in the country, profits gained were high due to protectionism against import of wool. He left in 1844 to study modern textile production in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, France and the UK. He returned in 1848 with sufficient knowledge to start a mechanical weaving firm. His brother Jürg Jebsen opened a wool mill in 1852. The two companies were assembled in 1863 as ''P. Jebsen & Co.'' and from 1878 as ''Arne Fabriker A / S''. In 1878, he started a factory at the village of

Dale Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia * The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada * Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway *D ...

in Hordaland. The site offered an ideal place to establish a premium textile production facility utilizing the valley’s natural hydro power. The textile facility, ''Dale Fabrikker'' (now known as

) was completed in 1879 and has remained active ever since. Dale fabrikker

His other ventures included shipping, mining in Sunnhordland with

Nils Henrik Bruun Nils Henrik Bruun (1832–1916) was a Norwegian engineer. Biography Nils Henrik Bruun was born in Tønsberg in 1832. Educated at Chalmers in Gothenburg, and in Germany, Bruun moved to Bergen in 1863 where he engaged in several engineering ventur ...

, a glass mill in Bergen and initiating the water and power utilities in Bergen. Jebsen was mayor in the borough of Arna and later city councilor in Bergen. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1874-76 and in 1880-82. He was one of the prime promoters of the construction of

Vossebanen The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Oslo, ...

railway; personally guaranteeing part of the construction costs. Later he was consulate in Bergen for Saxony, later for the

North German Federation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

and 1871-76 for the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. He remained a member of the Bergen city council until his death in 1892.

Personal life

He married twice; 1) in 1853 with Anna Uthuus (1829-1870) 2) in 1871 with Sophia Catharina Sundt (1849-1912). He was the father of twenty-three children. His youngest son was industrialist

Gustav Adolf Jebsen Gustav Adolf Jebsen (30 January 1884 – 20 January 1951) was a Norwegian industrialist. Personal life He was born in Bergen as the youngest son of factory owner and ship-owner Peter Jebsen (1824–1892) and Sophie Catharina Sundt (1849–1912). H ...

(1884-1951) His descendants included ship-owner,

Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen (27 May 1927 – 19 February 2004) was a Norwegian ship-owner. He was born in Bergen as a son of ship-owner Kristian Jebsen (1901–1967) and Sissi Kjerland (1904–1993). He was a great-grandson of factory owner and ship- ...

(1927–2004) and Atle Jebsen (1935–2009).

References

Other sources

*Kaare R. Jebsen and Peter M. Jebsen (2004) ''Slekten Jebsen fra Broagerland, Danmark'' (Bergen: John Grieg Forlag A/S) 1824 births 1892 deaths Norwegian company founders Norwegian industrialists Norwegian businesspeople in shipping Members of the Storting Mayors of places in Hordaland Politicians from Bergen People from Sønderborg Municipality {{Norway-business-bio-stub