Robert Rafn (27 February 1878 – 1964) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

businessperson and politician for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. He was born in

Porsgrund Porsgrund Porcelain Factory (''Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik'', abbreviated PP) is a porcelain flatware company located at Porsgrunn in Telemark county, Norway. History The company's production plant is a popular tourist attraction. The company wa ...

as a son of shipmaster Hans Christian Rafn (1833–1899) and Hanna Annette Halvorsen (1847–1939). He took technical education in Norway in 1895, and graduated in 1898 from Technicum Mittweida. From 1899 to 1905 he worked as an assistant of

Thomas A. Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

. He later worked as a chemist at a works in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

before running his own company named Irradiar in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

until 1915. He returned to Norway and settled in

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

. He was a manager at Moss Melkefabrik from 1916 to 1924 and technical director at Moss Aktiemølle from 1925 to 1945. He was also a supervisory council member of

Hafslund Hafslund is a borough located east of the city centre in the city of Sarpsborg, Norway, Before 1992, Hafslund was a part of Skjeberg municipality. The name Hafslund, which is composed of ''Hafr'', the Old Norse name for husband and ''lundr'' mean ...

. After 1945 he worked as a consultant. From 1925 to 1931 he was a member of the executive committee of Moss city council. He chaired the local party chapter from 1934 to 1937. In the

1936 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 19 October 1936, Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 the last before World War II and the German invasion of Norway. The result was a victory for the ...

he was elected to 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 ...

from the

Market towns of Østfold and Akershus counties The Market towns of Østfold and Akershus counties ( no, Kjøpstedene i Østfold og Akershus fylker) was an electoral district for parliamentary elections in Norway. It comprised the market towns ( no, kjøpsteder) of Fredrikstad, Halden (until 1928 ...

. Absent for most of 1938 and 1939, Rafn's seat was filled by Carl Sigurd Winther and

Ragnhild Rød Ragnhild Rød, née Ragnhild Gunnerson Welhaven (22 August 1884 – ??) was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. She was born in Kristiania as a son of clergyman Sven Rudolf Gunnerson (1844–1904) and Elise Margrethe Cammermeyer Wel ...

. Rafn married a daughter of Jørgen Christian Knudsen, who was himself a brother of

Gunnar Knudsen Gunnar Knudsen (19 September 1848 – 1 December 1928), born Aanon Gunerius Knudsen, was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Norway twice from 1908 to 1910 and from 1913 to 1920. He also inherited ...

and son of

Christen Knudsen Christen Knudsen (25 January 1813 - 7 April 1888) was a Norwegian ship-owner.Frednesallé ...

. Rafn was a brother-in-law of

Finn Christian Knudsen Finn Christian Knudsen (born 13 October 1868) was a Norwegian engineer and politician. He was born in Porsgrunn. He served as mayor of Eidanger from 1907 to 1910, and from 1916 to 1919. He was elected representative to the Storting for the perio ...

and Christen Knudsen, Jr. He died in 1964 and is buried in Porsgrunn.

References

1878 births 1964 deaths Politicians from Porsgrunn People from Moss, Norway Norwegian expatriates in Germany Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian company founders Østfold politicians Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting {{Norway-politician-1870s-stub