Rikard Olai Kaarbø (22 May 1850 – 3 March 1901) was a Norwegian businessperson and politician.

Personal life

Rikard Olai Wilhelmsen Kaarbø was born in the parish of

Trondenes Trondenes is an old parish and former municipality in Troms county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located along the western shore of the Vågsfjorden in what is now Harstad Municipality. T ...

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

, Norway to Wilhelm Olssøn Kaarbø (1811–1876) and Martine Mikaline Kildal (1828–1903). In 1875, he married Anna Elisabeth Lund. They were the parents of thirteen children. Among their children were the painter

Ragnhild Kaarbø Ragnhild Kaarbø (26 December 1889 – 20 August 1949) was a Norwegian painter. Personal life She was born at Harstad in Troms, Norway. She was one of thirteen children born to Rikard Kaarbø and Anna Elisabeth Lund. Her father was a succes ...

. Another daughter, Valdis Kaarbø, married

Erland Frisvold Erland Frisvold (May 13, 1877 – August 22, 1971) was a Norwegian colonel, civil engineer, and mayor of Harstad. Frisvold was born at the farm Kjæstad in Lom, Norway, the eldest child of Pål Erlandsson Frisvold (1846–1912) and Anne Rolvsdotte ...

who served as mayor of Harstad. Their son was General

Paal Frisvold Paal Frisvold (born 5 May 1962) is a Norwegian organizational leader and retired fencer. He competed in the team épée event at the 1984 Summer Olympics. In 2009 he was elected as the new leader of the European Movement in Norway, succeeding ...

, who was head of the Norwegian Army.

Career

He is associated with the establishment of the town of

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the Harstad (town), town of Harstad, the most populous town in Centra ...

on the island of

Hinnøya Hinnøya is the fourth-largest island in Norway, and the largest outside the Svalbard archipelago. The lies just off the western coast of Northern Norway. The island sits on the border of Nordland and Troms og Finnmark counties. The western pa ...

. He founded several businesses and fostered development of the local shipping industry. The city population increased from about 60 to 1,100 between 1876 and 1900. Harstad largely developed around his quay, packhouse and brewery. In 1887, he initiated the foundation of the city's first newspaper, ''Senjens Tidende'' (now ''Harstad Tidende'') and the establishment of phone company Harstad Telefonkompani in 1891. In 1888, he was a co-founder of the steamship company, Haalogalands Dampskibsselskab with headquarters in Harstad. The company continued in operation until entering bankruptcy in 1930. In 1895, he founded the mechanical workshop Harstad mekaniske Verksted, later to be knows as Kaarbøs Mek. Verksted A/S. In 1899, he founded a street gas lighting company, Harstad Acetylengassværk. In 1893, he became chairman of the Harstad city commission. He served as mayor of the municipality of Trondenes from 1883 until his death in 1901.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaarbo, Rikard 1850 births 1901 deaths People from Harstad Norwegian businesspeople in shipping Mayors of places in Troms