Thomas Johann Gottfried Hollesen

Thomas Johann Gottfried Hollesen (born July 1, 1837 in Bönebüttel , † April 28, 1898 in Rendsburg ) was a German businessman and senator.

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Thomas Johann Gottfried Hollesen was a son of the forester Hans Peter Hollesen (born March 4, 1800 in Hamburg ; † October 29, 1869 in Flensburg ) and his wife Catharina, née Beyreis (born February 26, 1802 in Eckernförde ; † April 15, 1881 in Rendsburg). He attended a high school in his hometown and from 1853 completed an apprenticeship in the trading office Zerssen & Co. In 1859 he moved to Copenhagen for a year and a half , where he worked for a ship broker. After that he lived for some time in Leith, Scotland .

After his return to Germany, Hollesen married Maria Catharina Friedericia von Zerssen (born September 28, 1841 in Rendsburg; † 1813 there). His wife was a daughter of Consul Johann Christian von Zerssen , the company Zerssen & Co. initiated. After the marriage, von Zerssen took on his son-in-law as a partner. On May 14, 1865, two days before the death of his father-in-law, Hollesen took over all the shares in the company and was already a respected businessman at the age of 28.

Hollesen took over the chairmanship of the Rendsburger Schiffergilde, was a member of the board of directors of Hollerschen Carlshütte, the savings and loan fund, the Rendsburger credit bank, the Neue Dampfer-Compagnie from Kiel and the Pahlhuder cement factory. In particular, he campaigned for the Hospital of the Holy Spirit for the elderly . He was also involved in the commission that prepared the construction of the Kiel Canal . Together with Peter Eggers , he founded the Rendsburg fertilizer factory. Due to the numerous obligations he had a great influence on the economic development of the city.

In 1875 Hollesen was elected a city councilor and a year later was appointed senator and confirmed three times by re-election. He represented the National Liberal Party initially in the district assembly and then in the Prussian House of Representatives . He also served as Belgian and Dutch consuls. In 1886 he was awarded the Leopold Order and in 1895 the medal civile Royale Belgique . He was also the holder of the Orange Nassau Order.

In 1892 Hollesen planned to sell his company. Instead he transferred shares in the company to Consul Jeß from Tönning and Christian Rheder from Rendsburg in 1895 . After his death in 1898, his son-in-law Paul Entz , who married one of his three daughters, Maria Catharina Friedericia von Zerssen (born September 28, 1841 in Rendsburg; † 1813 ibid.), Inherited his shares in the company.

literature

• Ernst Joachim Fürsen : Hollesen, Thomas Johann Gottfried . in: Schleswig-Holstein Biographical Lexicon . Volume 2. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1971, pp. 180-181