Samuel Eyde (29 October 1866 – 21 June 1940) 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 ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

. He was the founder of both

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around the world an ...

and

Elkem Elkem is a company that produces silicones, silicon, alloys for the foundry industry, carbon and microsilica, and other materials. Elkem was founded in 1904, has more than 7,000 employees and fields 30 production sites worldwide. Elkem has an ope ...

Personal life

Eyde was born in

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, en, "East Agder") was a county (''fylke'') in Norway until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . The ...

, Norway. He was a son of ship-owner Samuel Eyde (1819–1902) and his wife Elina Christine Amalie Stephansen (1829–1906). He was a first cousin of Alf Scott-Hansen on the maternal side. In August 1895 he married Countess Ulla Mörner (1873–1961), but the marriage was dissolved in 1912. In February 1913 he married actress Elly Simonsen (1885–1960).

Career

Eyde studied engineering 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 ...

where he graduated in 1891. He started his career in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, working with the railways where he planned new lines, bridges and stations. In 1897 he started the engineering firm Gleim & Eyde with his previous boss from

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He soon established offices in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

(now Oslo) and

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. By the turn of the century the firm was one of the largest in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, with some 30 engineers. Rjukan Sam Eide monument (9458992992)

In 1902, Eyde acquired control over

Rjukan Falls Rjukan Falls ( no, Rjukanfossen) is a waterfall of 104 metres in the western part of the Westfjord valley in Tinn, a municipality in the county of Vestfold og Telemark, Norway, west of the industrial town Rjukan. The waterfall is a part of the Må ...

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 ...

. He also held rights to waterfalls at Arendal and

Notodden Notodden () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city and List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Øst-Telemark. ...

. Eyde planned to use the hydropower for industrial purposes. In 1905

was producing hydro electrical power for

Potassium nitrate Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrat ...

production. This led to the development of the town of

Rjukan Rjukan () is a town and the administrative centre of Tinn municipality in Telemark, Norway. It is situated in Vestfjorddalen, between Møsvatn and Lake Tinn, and got its name after Rjukan Falls west of the town. The Tinn municipality council grant ...

as an industrial centre. In 1912 Eyde contributed to the development of

Arendal Smelteverk Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

Eydehavn Eydehavn or Eydehamn is a village in the municipality of Arendal in Agder county, Norway. The village is located about northeast of the centre of the Arendal (town), town of Arendal, about northeast of the village of Saltrød, about south of th ...

for the production of

silicon carbide Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder and crystal sin ...

. The plant is now part of the Norwegian company Fiven ASA and one of the oldest silicon carbide producing plants worldwide. In 1903, Eyde met with

Kristian Birkeland Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland (13 December 1867 – 15 June 1917) was a Norwegian scientist. He is best remembered for his theories of atmospheric electric currents that elucidated the nature of the aurora borealis. In order to fund his res ...

, who was a scientist, inventor and professor of physics at the

University of Christiania The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. Birkeland was working on developing an

electric arc An electric arc, or arc discharge, is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The electric current, current through a normally Electrical conductance, nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma (p ...

, while Eyde had recently bought the rights to several waterfalls in Telemark. They agreed to cooperate to develop an electric flame. This allowed Eyde to establish

Det Norske Aktieselskap for Eletrokemisk Industri Elkem is a company that produces silicones, silicon, alloys for the foundry industry, carbon and microsilica, and other materials. Elkem was founded in 1904, has more than 7,000 employees and fields 30 production sites worldwide. Elkem has an oper ...

(today Elkem) along with members of the

Wallenberg family The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish family, Europe's most powerful business dynasty. Wallenbergs are noted as bankers, industrialists, politicians, bureaucrats, diplomats and military. The Wallenberg sphere's holdings employ about 600 ...

who he had met in Sweden. The factory at

opening on 2 May 1905. In 1905 he founded Norsk Hydro-Elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab (now

). Eyde remained director-general of both companies. He was director-general of Norsk Hydro until 1917. He was offered a position on the board, where he remained until 1925, and a compensation of for ten years, and for the rest of his life. He was a member of the

Norwegian Parliament 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 base ...

in the period 1918-1920. In 1920, Eyde was appointed as Norwegian Minister to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Gallery

File:Birkeland-Eyde lysbue.JPG, Birkeland–Eyde arc furnace displayed at Kjelsås File:Birkeland–Eyde furnace 1905.jpg, Birkeland–Eyde furnace exhibited in Notodden File:Pelton turbine and electric arc furnace.jpg, Pelton turbine runner and nozzle of a Birkeland–Eyde electric arc furnace exhibited in Rjukan File:Rjukan electric arc furnace.jpg, Birkeland–Eyde electric arc furnace exhibited in a park in Rjukan

References

Other sources

* Grimnes, Ole Kristian (2001) ''Sam Eyde: den grenseløse gründer'' (Oslo: Aschehoug)

External links