Stephen Hansen
Stephen Hansen(28 September 1701 – 22 January 1770) was aDanishindustrialist, businessman andGeneral War Commissioner.He is most known for his involvement withKronborg Rifle FactoryinHellebækand for buildingHellebækgårdas well as theStephen Hansen Mansionon the harbourfront inHelsingør..
Early life and military career
[edit]Hansen was born on 28 August 1701 in the village of Skodsbøl in the Parish of Oddum in western Jutland. His parents were Hans Terkelsen and Birgitte Cathrine Christensd. His father His father wasbogd-ridefogedand leased (fpråagter) Østergård at Lyhne. He later bought a farm in Skodbøl as well as a fifty percent stake in Rahbek in Oddum. Stephan Hansen's sister Anna Elisabeth West was married to Svenning Andersen, owner of Søndervang.[1]
Career
[edit]Little is known about his early years. In 1728, he was appointed toquartermasterat the Artillery Regiment and shortly thereafter also to recruitment officer (Danish: Mønsterskriver) and Judge Advocate General (Danish: Auditør) at the Naval Artillery. In 1747, he was appointed to Superior War Commissioner but resigned from the military in 1750 to focus on his civil career as an industrialist and merchant.[2]
In 1743, Hansen purchasedHellebækgårdand theHammermøllenindustrial enterprise which was in a state of neglect. He expanded the factory and improved operations. He obtained a 20-year monopoly on the manufacture of rifles in Denmark and benefited tremendously from the Seven Year War (1756–1763)when he supplied rifles for the Danish army in Holstein. In 1761, he was appointed toGeneral War Commissioner.[2]
Hansen was also involved in trade on theFaroe Islandson which he had a monopoly from 1750 until 1770. In 1759, he commissionedPhilip de Langeto build aRococo-style mansion in Strandgade in Helsingør.
In 1765, Hansen sold Kronborg Rifle Factory to the Danish state for 70,000 Rigsdaler and that same year acquiredFrydendal ManoratHolbæk.
Personal life and legacy
[edit]Hansen married on 23 November 1733 in Viborg to Dorothea Sophie Rafn (1710-1773), daughter of mayor of Viborg Hans Knudsen Rafn. He died on 22 January 1770 and is buried atFrederick's German Churchin Copenhagen.[2]
He had two sons and two daughters. The son Wilhelm Aigist Hansen (1844-1796) took over Frydendal as well as Hansen's Faroese trading company. He was also involved in the newFinmark, Iceland and Greenland Tradeing Company(dounded in 1781). He was a member of the Great Agricultural Commission and a Toskilde Constituant Assembly. The younger son Christian Frederik Hansen was district governor (amtmand) of Ringkøbing Amt.[1]The elder daughter Antoinette Hansen (1741-1804) married the layerPeter Uldall.The younger daughter Birgitte Cathrine Hansen (1845-1880) was married to the prominent Helsingør-based businessman Gift med Jean Christopher van Deurs.
References
[edit]- ^abLodberg, Thor V.website=slaegtsbibliotek.dk."Stænderdeputeret Ole Christian Kirke"(PDF)(in Danish).Retrieved16 June2022.
- ^abc"Stephen Hansen"(in Danish). Gyldendal. 17 July 2011.Retrieved21 November2015.
External links
[edit]- Stephan Hansenat geni.com
- [Royal Greenland Trading Department Den gamle Hammermølle i Hellebæk]