Jørgen Wright Cappelen (10 August 1805 – 6 October 1878) was a Norwegian bookseller and publisher. He was one of the founders of the publishing house

Cappelen Damm Cappelen Damm AS is a Norwegian publisher established in 2007. The present company resulted from the merger of J.W. Cappelens Forlag, founded in 1829, and N.W. Damm & Søn, founded in 1843. Cappelen Damm is jointly owned by the Bonnier Group ...

Personal life

Jørgen Wright Cappelen was born at

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 ...

, Norway as the ninth and last child of ship-owner Ulrich Fredrich von Cappelen (1770–1820) and his wife Benedicte Henrikke, née Aall (1772–1812).Frednesalléen 1
by in ''Eidanger–Porsgrund'', by Finn C. Knudsen (1932). Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. His maternal grandfather was Nicolai Benjamin Aall, and as such his group of uncles included Constitutional founding fathers

Niels Aall Niels Aall (1 December 1769 – 23 October 1854) was a Norwegian estate owner, businessman and politician. Family Niels Aall was the son of lumber merchant Nicolai Benjamin Aall (1739–98) from Porsgrunn and his wife Amjørg Jørgensdatt ...

Jacob Aall Jacob Aall (27 July 1773 – 4 August 1844) was a Norwegian politician, historian, landowner and government economist. He was born the son of Nicolai Benjamin Aall (1739-1798), who was a merchant in Porsgrunn, Norway and owner of Ulefos Mano ...

and

Jørgen Aall Jørgen Aall (22 February 1771
by Inga Friis. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. – 7 April 1833) was a

. When Jørgen reached 15 years of age, he had lost both parents and the family business was bankrupt, however, his uncles

(1769–1854) and

Diderik von Cappelen Diderik von Cappelen (21 June 1761 – 3 April 1828) was a Norwegian wholesaler, merchant, shipowner, estate owner and politician in 1814. He is often referred to as Diderik von Cappelen but he spelt his name ''Didrich von Cappelen'' and is also ...

(1761–1828) took over as trustees.Cappelensvei
by Harald Bache Bystrøm. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library. His oldest brothers Nicolai Benjamin Cappelen and Ulrik Frederik Cappelen became jurists and members of the national parliament. The third brother, Wittus Juel Cappelen, became a merchant in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konner ...

. The oldest sisters Didricha Cappelen (1794-1833) and Louise Cappelen (1811-1842) were married consecutively to bishop and politician Jens Lauritz Arup (1793–1874). The fourth sister Benedicte Cappelen (1804-1881) married their cousin Hans Blom Cappelen (1803-1846); from this marriage, Jørgen had a nephew Didrik Cappelen (1836–1914) who became a member of parliament and a niece Marie Cappelen (1832-1913) who married merchant

Fritz Trampe Flood Fredrik "Fritz" Christoffer Trampe Flood (13 January 1826 – 10 May 1913) was a Norwegian merchant. Personal life Fritz Trampe Flood was born in 1826 to merchant Jørgen Flood (1792–1867) and his wife Hanna (1796–1863), née Aall.

(1826–1913). Jørgen Cappelen was married in 1842 to Danish stage actress and opera soprano Fredrikke Helene Schwirtz (1819-1870).Opptegnelser fra det gamle Porsgrunn
by Inga Friis. Hosted by Porsgrunn public library.

Career

Jørgen Wright Cappelen started theological studies in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...

, but abandoned these. He instead moved to Kristiania and ran a bookstore on Storgata. In 1829, he and founded the publishing house J.W. Cappelens Forlag.The publications were largely centered on religious topics. In the second half of the nineteenth century, they rather concentrated on school books.History of J.W. Cappelens Forlag
/ref> Cappelen was the first chairman of the

Norwegian Booksellers Association The Norwegian Booksellers Association ( no, Den norske Bokhandlerforening) is a Norwegian interest group. Its purpose is "looking after the interests of the booksellers and working to strengthen the position of literature and books in society". It ...

, serving in that capacity from 1851 to 1870. After his death the business was taken over by his son Jørgen Wright Cappelen, Jr. (1857-1934). The publishing house and bookshop was split into two stock companies in 1957. The bookshop company was liquidated in 1973. The publishing house still exists as

following a merger with publisher N. W. Damm & Søn.

References

External links

Cappelen Damm AS website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cappelen, Jorgen Wright 1805 births 1878 deaths Norwegian book publishers (people) Norwegian booksellers People from Porsgrunn Businesspeople from Oslo Jorgen Wright 19th-century Norwegian businesspeople

Personal life

Career

See also

References

External links