Johann Ludvig Zinn (14 September 1734 – 3 February 1802) was a German-Danish merchant who founded a trading house in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
in 1765 and died as one of the wealthiest men in the city. Zinn lived in the
Zinn House at Kvæsthusgade 3 in Copenhagen. His daughter,
Sophie Dorothea Zinn, wrote about her father in her memoirs, ''Grandma's Confessions'' ().
Early life and education
Zinn was born in
Mainbernheim
Mainbernheim () is a municipality in Bavaria, Germany,4 kilometers to the south of Kitzingen (''Landkreis'', district of Kitzingen) in the direction of Nürnberg. It was first recorded in the chronicles of 889, during the reign of King Arnulf, th ...
in
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
. His parents were Johann Friederich Zinn and Dorothea Barbara Zinn, née Kreis.
Career and public life
Instigated by
Johan Friederich Wewer
Johan Friederich Wewer (8 March 1699 – 9 May 1759) was a Danish merchant and ship-owner. He was a co-founder of Fabritius & Wewer and was also active in the Danish West India Company, Danish Asia Company, Danish Africa Company and the Royal Gre ...
, Zinn came to Denmark in 1757, where he initially worked for
Fabritius & Wewer. He established his own trading house in 1765, and was appointed Royal Agent in 1779.
Zinn served as a commercial specialist judge at Copenhagen's
Maritime Court
Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses.
United Kingdom England and Wales
Scotland
The Scottish court's earliest records, held in West R ...
and was a member of the city's
Council of 32 Men from 1772 to 1802. He also served as statutory auditor for the
Danish Asia Company
Danish Asiatic Company ( Danish: Asiatisk Kompagni) was a Danish trading company established in 1730 to revive Danish-Norwegian trade on the Danish East Indies and China following the closure of the Danish East India Company. It was granted a 40 ...
. In 1789, he was a member of a commission set up to regulate Copenhagen's grain reserves (), and was also president of
Grosserer-Societetet
The ('Wholesalers' Society') was a society for wholesale merchants in Copenhagen founded by law in 1742. After 1714, it was possible to acquire citizenship as a wholesaler in the city. was reorganized in 1817. In 1987 the association was replace ...
, a wholesaler organization, from 1790 until his death.
Personal life and legacy
Zinn married Johanna Charlotta Sophia Preisler (15 June 1754 – 3 September 1833) on 15 September 1771, daughter of professor
Johan Martin Preisler at the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark.
History
The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...
, who himself descended from a long line of German painters, and Anna S. Schuckmann (1720–1800). She was the sister of Danish actor
Joachim Daniel Preisler (1755–1809), himself married to actress Marie
Cathrine Preisler (1761–1797), as well as of engraver (1757–1831).
The family lived in the
Zinn House at Kvæsthusgade 3. Zinn was naturalized in 1793 and donated a
ballot box
A ballot box is a temporarily sealed container, usually a square box though sometimes a tamper resistant bag, with a narrow slot in the top sufficient to accept a ballot paper in an election but which prevents anyone from accessing the votes cas ...
in silver to the city of Copenhagen to show his gratitude for the way he had been received.
He died a very wealthy man on 3 February 1802 and is buried in Frederick's German Church. His two sons, Carl Ludvig Zinn (1777–1808) and Johann Friedrich Zinn (1779–1838), took on the company after their father's death. In 1809 it was the second-largest company in Copenhagen based on tax income.
[ Carl Ludvig Zinn bought Vodroffsgård in 1803 but died in 1808. The company was later passed on to Johann Friedrichs Zinn's son Ludvig Maximilian Zinn (1808–1868). His sister, Emma Sophie Amalia, married the composer ]Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann
Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann (14 May 1805 – 10 March 1900) was, together with his son-in-law Niels W. Gade, the leading Danish composer of the 19th century, a period known as the Danish Golden Age. According to Alfred Einstein, he was "the rea ...
.
See also
* Hinrich Ladiges
References
External links
Johan Ludvig Zinn
at geni.com
Source
Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zinn, Johann Ludvi
18th-century Danish businesspeople
Danish merchants
Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire to Denmark–Norway
Businesspeople from Copenhagen
Companies established in 1765
Burials at Christian's Church, Copenhagen
Danish company founders