Carl Frederik Tietgen (19 March 1829 – 19 October 1901) 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 ance ...

financier and industrialist. He played an important role in the

industrialisation Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

of Denmark as the founder of numerous prominent Danish companies, many of which are still in operation today. Tietgen notably formed

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

s, thus several of Tietgen's companies attained monopoly-like status, cementing their durability. Tietgen was a dedicated Grundtvigian, and financed the completion of the Marble Church at his own expense.

Early life and career

Tietgen was born on 19 March 1829 in Odense, the son of a

social club A social club may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation, or activity. Examples include: book discussion clubs, chess clubs, anime clubs, country clubs, charity work, criminal ...

manager catering to the local

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

. He helped his family out at the club throughout his childhood. After finishing his commercial apprenticeship, he worked in the United Kingdom for five years, and settled in Manchester, England. During that time he also traveled to northern Germany, Norway and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. In the United Kingdom Tietgen gained experience in private banking, which at that time in Denmark was an industry still in its infancy.

Career at Privatbanken

Upon returning to Denmark Tietgen founded a wholesale business, C.F. Tietgen & Co., at Copenhagen’s Amagertorv in 1855, and later relocated it to Gammeltorv Market. In spite of the office impressive locations, the business was a modest sole proprietorship, dealing primarily as an agent between business connections in Manchester and Copenhagen. In 1857 after his involvement as curator in a bankruptcy had demonstrated a remarkable eye for economy and strategic thinking, he was invited to join the management of which under him developed into Denmark's first investment bank. In the span of four decades as head of , Tietgen created and consolidated a large number of companies, and gained control of major companies in several industrial sectors. In the transportation industry Tietgen developed several railroads, capitalized Burmeister & Wain as well as

Svitzer (), also known simply as Maersk (), is a Danish shipping company, active in ocean and inland freight transportation and associated services, such as supply chain management and port operation. Maersk was the largest container shipping line a ...

in 1872. He created Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab as a merger of several smaller operators and in 1880 founded

Thingvalla Line Thingvalla line was a shipping company founded by Danish financier, industrialist and philanthropist Carl Frederik Tietgen in 1879 in Copenhagen, Denmark. It maintained a route between Copenhagen and New York City calling at Kristiania (present d ...

. Tietgen created several companies in the telegraph and telecommunications sector. He founded Det Store Nordiske Telegraf-Selskab in 1868, and with the arrival of the telephone

KTAS KTAS (channel 33) is a Spanish=language independent television station licensed to San Luis Obispo, California, United States, serving the Central Coast of California. Owned by Raul and Consuelo Palazuelos, the station maintains studios on Carm ...

was founded in 1880. In 1872 Tietgen formed De Danske Sukkerfabrikker as a merger of several sugar refineries. In 1873 followed the cofounding of the Tuborg brewery and the consolidation of several smaller coffee substitute companies forming . In 1881 several smaller distillers were merged to form

De Danske Spritfabrikker Danish Distillers ( da, Det Danske Spiritus Kompagni known as ) is a company that was headquartered in Aalborg, Denmark. Isidor Henius, the father of Max Henius, was one of the founders of a company that was acquired by Danish Distillers, which en ...

and in 1891 the merger of several independent breweries formed . In 1869 Tietgen cofounded with a group of European bankers, which in 1872 merged to form

Paribas The Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (“Bank of Paris and the Netherlands”), generally referred to from 1982 as Paribas, was a French investment bank based in Paris. In May 2000, it merged with the Banque Nationale de Paris to form BNP Paribas. ...

. Tietgen was a major force and a European pioneer in

industrial consolidation In business, consolidation or amalgamation is the merger and acquisition of many smaller companies into a few much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, ''consolidation'' refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a grou ...

. Tietgen would merge several competing companies in a given industry, creating large publicly traded stock companies. would become a major shareholder in the new company, as would a circle of business associates and Tietgen himself. He retired from in 1896, after suffering a stroke in Paris in 1894.

Founded companies

* Det Store Nordiske Telegraf-Selskab (1868) The companies founded or co-founded by Tietgen include: * De Danske Sukkerfabrikker (1872), today part of Danisco * B&W (1872) *

(1879) *

(1881), today part of Danisco *

(1882) * Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (1866) * Tuborg Brewery

Philanthropist

Tietgen was also to some extent a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, notably paying for the completion of Marble Church. He also built

Taarbæk Church Taarbæk Church (Danish language, Danish: Taarbæk Kirke), formerly known as Skovkapellet, is a Church of Denmark parish church in Taarbæk, Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, some 15 km north of central Copenhagen, Denmark. The church and adjacent ...

on the Øresund coast north of Copenhagen.

Personal life

Tietgen married 19-year-old Laura Charlotte Jørgensen on 8 August 1855 in

Vejstrup Vejstrup is a small town located on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, in Svendborg Municipality. It is located 26 km south of Nyborg and 10 km northeast of Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-c ...

on the island of Funen. Tietgen suffered partial

paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

following a minor

brain hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in 1894. He was weakened for the last years of his life, causing him to retire from most of his positions. Tietgen died in the evening of 19 October 1901 and a memorial ceremony took place at the Marble Church on 23 October. He was buried in Lyngby on 29 October 1901.

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tietgen, Carl Frederik 19th-century Danish businesspeople 19th-century Copenhagen City Council members People from Odense 1829 births 1901 deaths