Colonel Theodore Emile Salvesen of

Culrain Culrain (Cul Raoin) is a small village in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. Location It lies west of Ardgay, beside the Kyle of Sutherland about west from the village of Bonar Bridge, where several rivers converge to flood into the sea through l ...

(aka Ted Salvesen) (1863–1942) was a 19th-century Scottish soldier and businessman. The Theodore Salvesen Memorial Trust caring for training and financial hardship of the Merchant Navy was named in his honour.

Life

He was born on 10 March 1863 the son of Salve Christian Frederik Salvesen, a Norwegian who came to Scotland in 1851 to join his brother, Johannis Theodore Salvesen, and founded the shipping company, Turnbull and Salvesen becoming

Christian Salvesen Christian Salvesen was a Scottish whaling, transport and logistics company with a long and varied history, employing 13,000 staff and operating in seven countries in western Europe. In December 2007, it was acquired by French listed transport ...

(in 1872). His mother was Amalie Georgine Salome Andorsen (1828-1901). His elder brother was

Edward Theodore Salvesen The Hon. Edward Theodore Salvesen, Lord Salvesen (20 July 1857 – 23 February 1942) was a Scottish lawyer, politician and judge who rose to be a Senator of the College of Justice. Life Edward Theodore Salvesen was the son of Christian Frede ...

(Lord Salvesen). At the time of his birth they lived at Baynefield House in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

north of Edinburgh. The house still exists (slightly obscured) and is known simply as 122 Ferry Road. Whilst he enjoyed the title "Colonel" his military involvement was limited to the Territorial Army and he was never involved directly in any war. In 1899, when he took over the family firm from his father, he branched into whaling. He established the whaling colony of

Leith Harbour Leith Harbour (), also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation from 1909 until 1965. It was the largest ...

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

, named after his home. In 1914 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

James Geikie James Murdoch Geikie PRSE FRS LLD (23 August 1839 – 1 March 1915) was a Scottish geologist. He was professor of geology at Edinburgh University from 1882 to 1914. Life Education He was born in Edinburgh, the son of James Stuart Geikie a ...

, James Currie, Sir

Thomas Hudson Beare Sir Thomas Hudson Beare FRSE RSSA (30 June 1859 – 10 June 1940) was an eminent British engineer. He was successively Professor of Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, at University College, London (where he was a colleague of K ...

and

William Spiers Bruce William Speirs Bruce (1 August 1867 – 28 October 1921) was a British Natural history, naturalist, polar region, polar scientist and Oceanography, oceanographer who organized and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE, 1902–04) ...

. His company held the unfortunate claim to fame of owning the first ship sunk by a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

: the

SS Glitra SS ''Glitra'' was a steam cargo ship that was launched in 1881 as ''Saxon Prince''. In 1896 she was renamed ''Glitra''. In 1914 she became the first British merchant vessel to be sunk by a u-boat in the First World War. Building and ownershi ...

which was destroyed in the first week of the war. He died on 14 January 1942. He is buried with his wife in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping si ...

Family

He was married to first Annie Forbes Burnet (1867-1909), then Marian Euphemia Smith (1869-1933).Salvesen grave, Warriston Cemetery He was father to Captain

Harold Salvesen Captain Harold Keith Salvesen (30 July 1897 – 1 February 1970) was a British businessman of Norwegian descent, who taught economics at the University of Oxford before becoming a partner in the family whaling and shipping firm Christian Sal ...

References

1863 births 1942 deaths Scottish businesspeople Scottish people of Norwegian descent Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People from Leith Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland {{Scotland-business-bio-stub