Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen (30 June 1855 – 6 December 1936) was a Norwegian businessman and politician for the Conservative Party. He also wrote novels, under the pseudonym Elias Kræmmer.
Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen | |
|---|---|
 Anthon B. Nilsen in 1930. | |
| Member of the Norwegian Parliament for Fredrikstad | |
| In office 1895–1897 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1855 Svelvik, Norway |
| Died | 1936 |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Occupation | Businessperson Novelist |
He was born in Svelvik.[1] A small town, Svelvik nonetheless played an important role, being the nearest port of the larger town Drammen when the Drammensfjord inlet was frozen over during the winter.[2] Nilsen later moved to Drammen,[1] and in 1879 he established a company to export pulp and paper products as well as lumber.[3] The company, named Anth. B. Nilsen & Co from 1912,[1] was taken over by his sons in the 1930s.[3] It still exists today, under the name Anthon B Nilsen AS. Mainly emphasizing investment, it owns several Norwegian colleges.[4]
Anthon Nilsen also lived in Fredrikstad for many years. He came to the city in 1877[5] to work as manager of Fredrikstad Dampsag (Fredrikstad sawmill), but also co-founded the newspaper Fredriksstad Blad, which still exists today.[6] Nilsen was elected from Fredrikstad to the Norwegian Parliament in 1895, but served only one term.[7] He was also active in local politics. He left Fredrikstad in 1901,[5] and later lived at Larkollen and Jeløya.[6]
Under the pseudonym Elias Kræmmer, Nilsen had a sizeable literary production. His debut came in 1894 with Glade Borgere, a collection of small town depictions.[1] He was not acknowledged for high literary quality,[6] but nonetheless became popular for his humour.[1] Later books include the novels Sigurd Seiersborg (1920), Fyrgangen (1923), Bølgerne ruller (1925), Asylet (1928), Evensen (1930), Elias Kræmmers oplevelser (1932), Glade ungdom (1933) and Paa livets høislette (1934).[1] One of his plays, written in 1912, was staged at the National Theatre.[6] Nilsen also published a collection of poetry in 1919 under his real name.[1]
A bust of Nilsen was raised in Svelvik in 1955.[8] A street in Fredrikstad has been named after Elias Kræmmer.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Nilsen, Anthon Bernhard Elias". Store norske leksikon. Kunnskapsforlaget. 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Branstad, Ole and Branstad, Are: Det regionale maritime Norge. Vestfold University College, 2001.
- ^ a b Company history Archived June 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine – Anthon B Nilsen official site.
- ^ Stenseng, Sverre (3 May 2006). "Skole-fest". E24.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- ^ a b c Elias Kræmmers gate Archived August 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine – Fredrikstad City Encyclopedia. Hosted by Fredriksstad Blad.
- ^ a b c d Sjømann, forfatter og kremmer Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, by Mona Ekelund. Hosted by Kulturnett Østfold.
- ^ Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen – Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD)
- ^ Parks in Svelvik[permanent dead link] – Svelvik municipality.